King's Heir
by Shembre
Summary: Kiara trusted Kovu, the rogue who swept her off her paws. When Kovu proves her gravely wrong, Pride Rock falls and is seized by the Outsiders. Now, with one heir exiled to her shame, another unsatisfied by his prize, and a third heir soon mixed up in the middle with a birthright to match, can a rightful heir emerge and bring peace to the Pride Lands? TLK 2 AU. IN PROGRESS!
1. Prologue

_**A/N: New project! At this time, I have up to chapter 5 written and revised. I'll be writing this as I go, but I have an idea of what the endimg will be (I think... I seem to say that then change my mind). As with JBtS and PoF, expect a chapter update probably about once a month. :) My Word document says I started this in early 2014, but nothing really happened until the middle of this year. I did consider adding Tanga and Asuma, but have since change direction and will be focusing on one new character along with Kiara and Kovu. ;) So, please enjoy...**_

 **\- King's Heir -**

 **Shembre**

* * *

"Kiara!"

When Simba charged up to his daughter, Kiara, and the rogue she was alone with, there was no mistaking the mistrust in the enraged, red-maned king's eyes. Her father's bellowing roar cut through the smoke-filled air as he glowered at the younger, dark-maned stranger. Kovu took a step back, but held his ground.

Kiara gaped in horror. After her mother, Nala, rushed to her side and nuzzled her damp cheek, her horror turned into indignation. On the other side of the river, the dry grasslands burned, glowing red in the fading light of the evening. Kiara's throat felt scorched and her eyes burned from the smoke. A small flock of frightened birds howled whilst they passed overhead. Whole herds of zebra and gazelle had fled the deadly flames that had nearly claimed Kiara's life. _Kovu saved me!_ He, like the fire, had come out of nowhere, had scooped her up, and had taken her across the river to the safety of the Pride Lands.

Simba bared his teeth. "Kiara, I almost lost you. No more hunts for you—not ever!"

"No!" Kiara glared at her father. "Daddy, I was doing just fine—even before Kovu—"

"Kovu!" Simba's eyes widened at the name of their enemy's son. He roared again, and this time Kovu lowered his head and roared back.

Kiara lowered her ears as her furious father and the green-eyed young lion, who she'd met long ago as a cub, snarled at each other like they were about to fight over the last scrap of meat in the world. Kiara was relieved when Rafiki suddenly appeared and diffused her father's anger, confirming that he had seen Kovu save the princess from the wildfire. Relieved, she silently thanked the Great Kings.

 _Good thing little seems to escape our shaman._

Simba raised his eyebrow in disbelief at Kovu."You? You saved her?" He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"I'm afraid to say that I was hunting nearby. I saw her. She'd collapsed, and I acted," Kovu explained calmly. "Now all I humbly ask is to join your pride—"

"No!" Simba charged at Kovu. They stood nose to nose. "You were banished with Zira and the other Outsiders."

Kovu held his ground, his teeth gritted. "I was only a cub. No more than an infant," he said coolly. "I have left the Outsiders. I'm a rogue." He heaved a sigh, puffed his chest. "Judge me now, for who I am…" Narrowing his green eyes, he lowered his head and pinned his ears back into his dark mane. He spat, "Or am I to be blamed for a crime I didn't commit?"

Kiara tensed. She opened her mouth to argue for Kovu's cause. Why shouldn't he be given a chance? Was he just like the other Outsiders, who were selfish and conniving? He'd rescued her. Did he remember how she'd saved him, too, from a river crocodile? She wasn't sure what her father was thinking, seeing... But Kovu wasn't the murderer who'd thrown her grandfather from a cliff. Had Kovu ordered hyenas to chase and kill Simba, forced him into exile, or engaged him in a fight to the death? No. Kovu was not her Great Uncle Scar.

She watched in surprise as the situation finally turned in Kovu's favor—Queen Nala reminded Simba that he owed Kovu for saving their daughter's life, and Zazu, his majordomo, grudgingly reminded him of his own laws— all debts must be honored.

"Though you might want to make an exception," the blue hornbill added with a scowl.

Kiara watched her father with pleading eyes, though he never looked over at her. _Please, Daddy, just give someone a chance, just this once…_

A slow, almost unimpressed smile came over her father's face. "I'll respect my father's laws. For now I'll reserve judgment." He turned away, leading everyone home to Pride Rock. "We'll see who you really are." The sun was nearly gone from the sky that was a dark, ashy red.

 _There you go, Daddy. Not everything in this world is so terrible._

Kovu gave Kiara a half-lidded smile—a roguish grin for sure.

She grinned back.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Real chapters officially kick off on Halloween! They kinda needed a little buffer...**_


	2. With the Dawn Light

**(A/N: Happy Halloween! :D Hope you're all getting some sweet sweets and some good scares! :3 And here is... Chapter 1...)**

* * *

There was something strange about that moment. The sun had barely risen in the east. Everything was cast in a soft gold. Smoke was on the air, but it would fade in a few days' time. None of the starvation, the thirst, or shame of Kovu's past mattered now, though it had, and still meant, everything to him.

He hadn't heard so much as a thank you for saving the princess. And she would've gotten herself into some sort of trouble eventually without the fire that Vitani and Nuka had purposely set. When Simba refused to let him in, Kovu was sure his mother's plan had failed. If not for the urging of Queen Nala, Kiara, or the shouting monkey, who'd apparently watched the rescue, Simba wouldn't now be lying at the paws of Zira's Chosen One.

 _This is what you got for reserving judgement. Should've trusted your hate for me…_

Silently, Kovu had crept up on Simba while he drank alone at the watering hole. When the king turned to leave, Kovu had raised his paw against him and had delivered a quick, stunning blow to Simba's head. The king fell with a surprised grunt and a spray of water. Kovu pounced and put all his weight on Simba's submerged head, neck, and shoulders. Fighting back, Simba tried to shake off the assassin as he drowned—his legs, stuck out to the side, paddled to nowhere. Kovu's limbs had shook from the strain and excitement as a terrible, but satisfying, gurgle had risen to the bubbling surface. Air surged from the king with each retching whoop until the king went limp.

 _A harsh, but stealthy death_ , Kovu thought to ease his blood lust. But, really, the faster the better. He'd used nearly all his strength in the almost disappointingly short fight.

Small clumps of Simba's red mane drifted on the settling surface of the watering hole. Ankle deep in the water, panting and soaked, Kovu shook his mane as he stood next to the deceased. Looking down, Kovu dipped his paw into the water by Simba's head; he moved aside the thick red mane, which swayed with the water that lapped over the king's head. Simba's thick body twitched in a death spasm. Kovu sighed and rolled his shoulders. He pulled his paw away, and Simba's mane drifted back in to hide his wide-eyed and strangled expression.

Jogging away from the scene, Kovu chuckled. _Kill the king… check…_

Unable to face the rest of Simba's pride alone, Kovu ran to the Outlands and charged into his family's den. Winded, he announced Simba's timely death. Zira drank in the moment, swelling up with prideful energy. Every night she'd put Kovu to bed with fantasies of their new dawn. Her lullabies were sweetened by promises of war, death, and revenge. Her little prince would bring them to greatness. Cheering from his siblings and the other lionesses echoed through their giant termite-mound den, which distorted the noise into something like the guttural purr of a crocodile.

He beamed with his chin lifted high. He'd done the family good. No more empty stomachs. No more sneaking a drink from a filthy, predator-filled river. No more paws made raw by sunburnt dirt. They were shaking away the ashes and rising above the shame of their exile. A little of the weight Zira had placed on Kovu's own shoulders at birth lifted away.

Just a little bit.

"Good work, Brother," Vitani said with a smirk, patting him on the shoulder. She flipped the little tuft of fur on the top of her head. She then gestured to his foreleg. "You got a little…"

He looked down. He hadn't even realized Simba had scratched him in the fight. He licked the bleeding claw marks. "More soon where that came from."

Vitani nodded.

"The plan worked better than anticipated—thanks to Kovu's swiftness," Zira gushed. She thought for a moment. "Not even a day. Kiara was just starting her hunt right now yesterday."

Kovu's older brother, Nuka, sniggered. The mangy, grey-furred lion shook hard with excitement and couldn't sit still. "Little Miss Princess ran right into our claws!" He held his paws up in front of him. "Little did she know her daddy would soon be—"

"Hush!" Zira snapped. "Do not celebrate early. The lionesses— Simba's lionesses. They're not _so_ weak or _so_ stupid. And we need to deal with them."

The throne was in sight, but Kovu still needed to secure it. Removing Simba was only a small victory in the bigger scheme of things. Kovu narrowed his eyes as an ugly gladness made his muzzle turn up in a grin. His pridesisters roared around him as they prepared for a battle…

Then, he wondered, why had they needed to trick Kiara in the first place? Simba regularly patrolled his borders by himself… It now seemed… messy. During the fire rescue, a burning tree had nearly fallen on him as he carried an unconscious Kiara across his back.

 _No, Mother knew what she was doing. It just worked out that Simba was alone this morning, too—the idiot shouldn't have been alone. And does it matter now? Pride Rock is for the taking. Our suffering in exile is over._

Zira laughed. "Go for the eyes! Break their jaws. Maim them and make sure no one escapes."

With a roar, she led the way out of the den for the last time—Kovu wasn't sad to leave a place where the dirt walls had been permeated by their suffering, and he wondered if the stench of it would linger for years to come. Maybe with more dirt and spit the termites could cover up and seal the misery within, even if Kovu could never forget it.

Nuka cackled into a dry breeze heavily saturated in the scent of charred grass. In his fur, Kovu caught a whiff of blood, and he readied himself for more.

* * *

Kiara's mother frantically scooped aside several rocks the size of their heads at the back of the den inside Pride Rock. She'd created a tight but good-sized hole for the princess to squeeze through. To run from the Outsiders without being seen.

Exhausted and sore from yesterday's fire scare, Kiara had overslept. When her mother had roused her and pushed her to her paws, she'd cried out in irritation and confusion, but was rudely awakened to reality when she heard her mother's news. The Outsiders had ambushed several lionesses. They'd been walking to the watering hole together that morning. When they'd heard the distressed roars of their sisters, everyone else who'd been lounging nearby had joined the battle. Now they held the Outsiders at bay. Back from the queen and princess.

 _They can't hold them off forever…_

"Run, Kiara."

Kiara crouched before the opening. Her mother had told her about this exit before, how it had been put in for exactly this reason. Distant roars of agony, terror, and anger rattled her nerves. Shivering, she looked up at her mother. "Where's Daddy?"

"Kiara, go!" Nala pushed Kiara's hip with her forehead."

Scared, Kiara began to crawl.

"Zazu's outside. I won't lose you, too."

 _Too?_ Some rocks and dust shifted, and Kiara let out a cough. "Mom, I—"

"Zazu'll take you to Tojo's pride until it's safe." Nala's voice sounded muffled and hollow as Kiara wriggled through the short tunnel, which was the length of her body. "I love you."

Kiara came out the other side of the escape hole. She turned and leaned down. "I love you, too, Mom!" Kiara called back. "Where are Timon and Pumbaa?"

Nala crouched down, her blue eyes wide. "K-Kiara, please, run!" Staring down a bull elephant would've been less frightening than hearing the raw urgency in her mother's voice. Would she lose her mother? Where was her father? Where was Kovu?

"Princess! Come, Princess," Zazu, the king's hornbill majordomo, called from above, swooping down over Kiara's head before rising high in the air to keep watch. "This way. Hurry!"

Running with her body lowered, she followed Zazu. She couldn't block out the piercing cries of lions slaughtering each other. _Is this real? No, I'm about to wake up! This has to be a nightmare. I'm going to wake up at dawn and Kovu will teach me to hunt!_

Kiara shook her head. No, this _was_ real. _Why? What happened? Were the Outsiders upset that Kovu left them? Is that it? Is Kovu helping us… or his family?_ When she nearly tripped over a thick, gnarled stick, she stopped herself from analyzing what had happened. She couldn't. A day's run was ahead of her. She focused on Zazu and ran like flames were licking her heels again.

When Pride Rock disappeared from sight, she remembered her father, and how he'd left home, too, all those years before…

History repeating itself—tenfold.


	3. Love of the Fallen

When another Pridelander fell dead, Nala yelled for her lionesses to run and save themselves. Lucky for them, instead of picking them off one by one, Zira called for the Outsiders to keep the Pridelanders from escaping. They circled them, trapping them like tadpoles in a drying pond. One lioness broke away, was chased down, and was dragged back to stand with the others. Bullied and shoved, the defeated lionesses lined up at the foot of Pride Rock.

The Pridelander lionesses stood side-by-side, bruised, cut up, and blood-smeared. Three lionesses sagged on their paws and looked like death would rescue them by dawn, no matter how much care they received. They stared hollow-eyed at the two dead lionesses nearby.

Kovu ground his teeth. Kiara was missing.

He didn't expect they'd give up their princess if they hadn't expected her to fight, too. Nala glared daggers at Kovu.

 _Mother doesn't look at Nuka like that…_

Kovu sat back while Zira walked up and down the line of battered meat. Zira chuckled. "Your king is gone. You saw him by the water." A few Pridelanders hung their heads. "You'll surrender to me, the queen mother of the Pride Lands, and to your new king, Kovu."

"No," snarled Nala. Her right ear was shredded. A dozen deep gashes covered her chest. She held her head the highest and her voice was stony. "Scar was never our king. Kovu never will be, either."

"Yes." Zira chuckled. "Yes, well, isn't that the root of our problem? I cannot break the spirit of someone who hasn't broken their own for me."

 _But we can help them along, even if Kiara is still out there to give them hope,_ Kovu added silently. _When we find her, I'm sure Mother'll make her suffer. And even if we don't kill her, the guilt and regret that she trusted me will be torture._

Again Zira paced up and down the line, once, twice, before she stopped in front of Nala, who bared her teeth and narrowed her eyes. Zira grinned. "The only cure for a strong spirit is death."

"Kiara's bringing an army," Nala said coolly. "Torture us. Kill us. But you and your _pawn,"_ she spat, looking at Kovu, "will not keep the Pride Lands."

Zira tsked. Without another word, she slapped her fully-extended claws across Nala's throat with a dull smack.

Cries of surprise and anger sent chaos into the air. Nala crumpled, but she kept her paws beneath her. The Pridelanders tried to get to Nala, but the Outsiders bullied them into staying in their neat line.

"Heathens!" an older lioness growled. Tears ran down her cheeks.

As she bled, Nala's lips moved silently; she tried to get something out. Every eye was on Nala, but her eyes were locked on Kovu. He glared back at her, but a chill went through him as her legs shook and her head grew heavy like a wilted flower's. Red pooled around her paws.

Her body and eyelids finally fell. The two lionesses on her sides rested their paws on their queen's shoulders in comfort. Everybody held their breath as she faded. Nobody spoke.

Kovu looked at his own lionesses. Skinny, dirty-furred, tough lionesses. Except for the blood on their muzzles and paws, they looked pathetic compared to the fat Pridelanders. But he was proud of his family. And he had led them to this moment, removing the pretender to the throne. From now on he'd be their king.

 _King…_ Kovu mused. For a moment, something started to nag at him. What was it going to be like to be a king?

The silence, marked by whimpering when they realized Nala was dead, grew too much for Kovu. He was thankful when his mother addressed the leaderless lionesses.

"I'm going to ask all of you _two_ questions. You're going to answer quickly when I ask," she said. "There's only one correct answer."

The Pridelanders murmured amongst themselves, their eyes wide with dread. The faces of the older lionesses hardened.

Zira grinned. "So… Who'd like to live a little longer? Who'll be loyal to us? Show it! Bow to Kovu!"

Kovu fidgeted, but lifted his chin. The younger lionesses glanced at their elders before looking at one another.

"Bow!" Zira snarled.

Letting out a sob, one young lioness stumbled back and threw herself to the ground, shaking in fear with her paws over her bowed head. Then, without a word, all but one of the young lionesses, who was already dying, took their step back behind their elders and bowed their heads to Kovu. Five older lionesses remained standing with their heads held high.

"Traitors…" one elder hissed. The Outsiders chuckled.

Zira smirked. "Welcome to the pride," she said. "As for the rest of you…" She turned to her soldiers and jerked her head.

The blood of the lionesses was added to the blood of their queen. The remaining seven lionesses hung their heads and cried. They were escorted into Pride Rock and ordered to stay at the back of the den. That's when Vitani noticed the hole, and the Pridelanders were shooed away from it.

"Think this is how the princess got away?"

Kovu nodded. "Probably." He looked down the hole and was impressed with the size of the rocks that had been moved away. He could smell the unmistakable scent of fear.

They had no idea where Kiara was. She'd had a good head start. Nala had said her daughter was bringing an army, but Kovu was unsure if this was a bluff. He wanted to hunt the princess himself, but his exhaustion was catching up with him. They also needed to watch the Pridelanders. He wasn't sure why his mother just hadn't killed them all, but he had a couple guesses why. They weren't alive out of pity.

Vitani licked one of her wounds. "I'll help seal it up, have a couple lionesses keep watch."

Kovu nodded. "Whoever is less injured should go look for dinner."

"That weird monkey in that big tree probably won't help us, huh?"

"Kovu!" Zira called from the den entrance before he could answer his sister. He went to see what their mother wanted.

"Everyone's settled," he told her.

"Good. Walk with me, Son."

Kovu followed his mother and they stood at the point of Pride Rock. His anxieties edged into the forefront of his mind again. What was it going to be like to rule over the lionesses of another king—a king he'd murdered? Again, Kovu brushed these worries aside. _Well, rogues take over other prides all the time… and I have my whole family behind him._ He was about to ask her about the lionesses when Nuka slunk up behind them.

"Mother, we did it," Nuka said. "And I helped! We fin—"

"Yes, _Kovu_ did it," she corrected her eldest son, the only child to have ever had the blood of Scar run through his veins. The child Scar had rejected. She'd reminded Kovu of this whenever she would tell him that _he_ had been chosen by Scar. The name of his and Vitani's real father had never come up, and he had never asked where the lion had gone. Now he wondered if he had one, that he would have someone to guide him. He hoped his mother knew more about ruling a real kingdom than she'd let on.

Kovu watched Nuka stare out across the Pride Lands. His older brother's face hardened. He wasn't seeing the lush grass, full trees, and vast herds of wildebeest and zebra. He didn't appreciate the openness of the sky and see freedom... For as long as Kovu could remember, Nuka had doggedly tried to impress their mother. He'd tried just about anything to gain any bit of her affection, her love—from finding her mice to snack on, being the one to genuinely listen to her rant about Simba, to bringing her little flowers when she was depressed. He mattered so little to their future. There was nothing left for Nuka to do that could even remotely impress Zira.

Nuka asked, "What'll we do if Kiara returns? Nala said she was bringing an army, Mother!"

Zira huffed and rolled her eyes. "She'll be helpless when we say we'll kill her family."

Nuka chuckled. "Yeah, of course!"

Of course. At any hint of a battle, long before an attack could reach a crisis, they would execute the imprisoned hostages. Kiara loved her family as much as he loved his. She wouldn't want anyone else killed. That would destroy her. Blood was already on her mind, clogged and clotting in her soft, naïve heart…

At that moment, as Nuka and their mother reminisced over the day, the thrill of killing his enemies faded like paw prints in a rain storm.

* * *

Kiara had limped on bleeding paws through the day and half the night when Zazu had found her a place to hide in a dense thicket of trees while he flew ahead to Tojo's pride. The hornbill had wanted to stay with her to keep watch, but they had no choice.

"I'm slowing you down," Kiara told him, her throat raw.

"I'll go get help. Stay hidden, Princess!" The bird took flight and disappeared.

Alone, Kiara had tried to stay awake, but her exhaustion overtook her. The sound of someone moving through the trees, snapping off branches and disturbing leaves, woke her with a start at dawn.

 _It's them! It's them!_

She curled her lips over her teeth and hissed.

"Kiara?" came a lion's voice she'd never heard before. "Princess?"

Behind the grey branches of a bare bush, she could see a young lion with a light brown mane, golden fur. She pressed her sore body close to the ground, and when he saw her, his blue eyes widened.

"No, it's all right! I'm Prince Ramik. Tojo's son." He moved back a couple steps, snapping more branches. "Zazu sent me to find you."

Kiara relaxed. Slowly, she stood up and waited for Ramik to break through the foliage to get to her.

"My father went ahead with my brothers and a few lionesses to the Pride Lands." Ramik's brow arched. "Kiara, I'm so sorry. We always thought they were more roar than bite…"

Kiara lowered her head. "I'm not sure what happened… There was a fire yesterday, and Zira's son saved me, and Daddy let him into the pride, and—"

"It's all right," Ramik told her gently. "Zazu explained. You don't have to."

"I'm so scared for them."

"My father will do what he can."

"I can't believe this…" Kiara lowered her ears and looked at her paws. Her father's decision to trust Kovu now seemed less noble. What it must have been like for her family to face the Outsiders… To take their claws, their teeth, their bitter and determined rage. How could any lion face that monster?

 _But maybe… M-maybe they chased the Outsiders away? How am I so convinced my family couldn't fight and win? Can't they handle themselves? And Tojo will help… And can't I give Kovu the benefit of the doubt, too? That he didn't betray our trust?_

Ramik led her to his pride. By the end of the journey, traveling under the hot sun on raw paws and little sleep, Kiara's limbs were shaking and her stomach felt cramped. King Tojo's lionesses, the ones who had stayed behind, tried very hard not to stare at her. A buzzing ring started in her ears. Everything went fuzzy. The ringing sharpened like a cold morning frost. She squeezed her eyes shut and saw lights dance in her eyes.

The next thing she knew a flurry of paws were on her, patting her sore muscles to bring her back around. She'd collapsed while walking behind Ramik.

"Kiara? Can you hear me? I should've let her rest. I just wanted to get her here."

"Poor girl."

"Those Outsiders will pay. One way or another."

"P-please… help… help my family…" The sound of her hoarse voice made her tears start. She squinted up at Ramik with doubled-vision, fighting to come back to her senses. Great Kings, she felt crushed. She rubbed her tears away on her shoulder and gasped a rough sob.

Kiara's vision settled just as Ramik set his mouth in a hard line. The golden-furred lion made a gesture to a lioness and instructed her to see their shaman for a sedative. He told another to hunt something small. Sniffling, Kiara tried to sit up, but Ramik put a paw on her shoulder.

"Nope, you stay. Don't move. You hit your head when you fell." He rubbed and massaged her shoulder gently.

She nodded and rested her head on the dry grass. It sounded like a dull thud, and she didn't know what it was, until she realized her heart had taken on an anxious thrum, and her whole body felt flushed. Panic and grief overwhelmed her. Her mouth opened in a soundless grimace. She sucked in a loud gulp of air, and still felt breathless. She could hear Ramik say something to her, but she wasn't sure what he'd said, and he did not repeat it. She could only think of her family, think of Kovu. What had he done when the Outsiders had attacked her pride? And why had they attacked now? Why had they waited for so long? A chill ran through Kiara, and she shivered. She knew something terrible had transpired, something well out of her control.

"Here, eat this. Take this. Kiara?"

Time had fallen away. Kiara blinked and looked at Ramik, who was looking down into her face with arched brows.

"You need to eat. And see? This stuff will numb you for awhile."

By her head Ramik had laid three mice and a big leaf with a smelly white paste smeared across it.

"I had some when my mother died," Ramik confided with the volume of a soft breeze. "You won't feel anything."

She nodded.

The white paste clung to her tongue and was barely covered by the musty fur, blood, and bones of the mice, which her tight throat and upset stomach tried to reject. She licked her lips, catching salty tears. She tried not to gag.

"You'll get tired and be able to really rest. Anything else I can get you?" Ramik cocked his head to the side for a moment before he pursed his mouth and moved back to give her space.

When her nausea passed, Kiara rubbed her eye against her shoulder and sat up half-way. "I'm a mess… What am I supposed to do? My family—I-I can't…" She closed her eyes as the wave of pain flowed over her again.

"I'm sorry, Princess…" Ramik moved closer again and touched her shoulder with a paw.

Kiara looked up at him through blurred eyes before she head-butted into other foreleg and cried harder.

Ramik rested his paw along her back. "I'm so sorry… It's okay to let it out… I'm here to protect you. My father will do what he can."

Kiara nodded before her face constricted with another pained grimace and silent sob. Soon, she grew drowsy and fell into an anesthetized sleep.

Tojo, Ramik's three younger brothers, and several lionesses arrived at sunset. The news wasn't good. Beyond their exhaustion, Kiara already saw the sadness in their faces. She knew what they were going to say.

Nala and Simba were dead. The lionesses who had bowed to Kovu were now Zira's hostages. The others had paid with their lives.

"With any sign of retaliation," Tojo reported solemnly, "they will kill the hostages. We saw the survivors. It wasn't good." He hesitated, looking straight at Kiara. "Kovu killed your father. That's what started it."

Kiara hung her head. Her mind went blank with disbelief. She was anguished by the news, but didn't know what to say. She felt used.

"You are very lucky, Princess," Tojo said.

"Yes, I am lucky…" Kiara looked up at the king, who immediately turned away with guilt and helplessness in his blue eyes. A king and his warriors were useless against a hostage situation.

Ramik whispered into her ear, "I'll think of something. I won't let your lionesses suffer, Kiara…"

Zazu had stayed behind to meet with Rafiki. The hornbill flew home a few days later. His news was bittersweet.

At the time of the Outsider's attack, Nala had told Timon and Pumbaa to run to Rafiki's for safety. When their family had fallen, and deciding it wouldn't be practical to join Kiara, Timon and Pumbaa had made a run for it. At the border, a band of Outsiders had chased them. The meerkat and warthog had barely escaped to the desert. Her father's friends were safe, having moved on to the jungle beyond. Although they were separated by miles and miles, she knew they were together in their despair.

 _Great Kings! Why? Why would you do this to our family? Have you no mercy? Have your hearts grown hard against us as you turn a blind eye and let the Outsiders murder without remorse? How could you… I wanted to know who I was, who I truly am, but now I'm not even the princess I didn't want be._

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 **(A/N: Happy belated Thanksgiving and thank you bunches for the follows, faves, and reviews of any of my stories! Makes me smile to see those notifications in my inbox. c:)**


	4. These Easy Days

**(A/N: Early chapter release, you guys! I do have a backlog, but I'm pacing out the content so I don't overwhelm myself. I needed a little break from my jewelry shop today as well. Feeling kind of bummed out for no particular reason, and I thought posting a chapter would be helpful. I have a few projects I'm part way through, but I knew this post was a task I could complete.)**

* * *

 _With a paw, Zira wiped the blood from her chin and shook the dirt from her ears. She craned her neck and stared up the big, wild-maned lion as thin wisps of clouds hung in the blue sky and a shrill grasshopper chirped nearby. When he snarled, she looked away; today's punishment was enough already. At her father's paws lay five fat mice, their little feet sticking up in the air and their little mouths gaping._

 _Kralj smirked, making the buffalo-horn-sharp angles of his wide face look harsh in the sunlight. Scars like tree twigs ran across his face into the thicket of his faded brown mane. One scar in particular crossed over his cheek bone and halved his nose._

 _He'd lost interest in her other sisters long ago. They'd cowered and cried for their mothers. Wailing, stop! Stop, don't hurt me! Through her "disobedient nature," and her refusal to be like her sisters, Zira had become his favorite child. She was his daughter, when none of her aunts or her own mother could give him a son that wasn't stillborn._

 _"Every breath you take… well… Sometimes I wonder how you're able to take another. And have the gall to look anyone in the eye."_

 _The tone of his graveled voice struck her. It was the same, unmistakable tone he used when he'd tell the tale of how he'd won his first pride from two—or sometimes three—old males, or how impossible it would be to find a pride that didn't know his name. His chest puffed out, his eyes half-lidded with pride… Was he proud of her? She'd never heard any sort of compliment come from her father's mouth. Was something wrong with her ears? "Your Majesty?"_

 _Kralj snorted to himself, started to turn away, and gave Zira the impression that she was no longer on his mind. "I'm going to walk the border." He scowled at her. "That enough time Zira?"_

 _"Yes." She nodded furiously. A good lunch was in order. Why had she thought he'd want mice for breakfast? An insult, and she'd known it. She tongued the blood from her split lower lip. If she'd gotten up earlier, she would've had time to find something much better. Now she'd wasted the morning. But she could make it up to him._

 _If Kralj had no son, then she would be the daughter to make it up to him, too._

* * *

Days and days passed, and soon Kiara saw not one full moon turn full again in the night sky, but two. Ramik brought her more of the white paste to ease her nerves. The last thing Kiara wanted to do was sleep, but the waking world was just as painful.

In her dreams, she saw them. Torn limb from limb. Flesh stabbed with dagger claws. Her mother's wide-eyed face hurt the most, and she woke up screaming and crying again. Ramik stayed by her, always comforting her, never more than few feet away.

Her mind was fracturing, but she grew numb. She could do nothing for the poor lionesses at home.

She also dreamed about walking up to Kovu and slapping his smug face. He'd barely flinch, and he would laugh at her, his green eyes flashing while he cursed her for her silly stupidity. Once, she tore him to pieces, but his immortal, maniacal laugh was endless and deafened her as she spat out his blood that threatened to drown her, too. It was a dream far worse than any of the rest.

Her one-day friend had murdered her father. She's mistaken a cold killer for the cub she'd met years before, as had probably been designed. He'd come back into Kiara's life like he'd never even left; he'd repaid her with betrayal and destruction.

 _And what can I ever do about it? He's too strong. He has my family. It's my fault… I trusted him… and he took advantage. Will I ever see the Pride Lands again? Is this how I'll live the rest of my life? In exile with this guilt in my heart? My father was right. You don't turn your back on an Outsider..._

Kiara lay alone under a shady tree, exhausted, but too awake even after a sleepless night. She was all but friends now with her exhaustion. A few of Tojo's lionesses had asked her to join in their hunt that day, but soon realized how useless she was and had sent her away. Caught in her thoughts and fears of what she could do about anything, she was startled when Ramik said her name.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. I'm okay…" She sighed and sat up. The leaves overhead shivered in the slight breeze, and she shook her head when a fly tried to land on her cheek.

"I know I can only ask." In his eyes, she saw the unspoken _you know I'd do anything for you…_

Kiara smiled. "I know… You always ask."

They'd grown close, and close fast. Ramik offered her comfort and kept her steady. He told her she was beautiful and sweet. Kiara vaguely remembered that Tojo and her father had once considered betrothing them. Her mother had intervened later and had insisted that Kiara be allowed to marry who she wanted. Regardless, the lost princess was happy that any such an arrangement would've worked.

He licked her cheek. "I found something cool the other day that I want to show you. Want to check it out?"

She nodded, having no will to refuse, and hoping a little walk would help her mind. "Okay."

Tojo's lands weren't too different in that the sparse grass was green when the rain came, and golden brown in the withering heat of the dry season. The other lionesses had told Kiara they rarely had to look hard for their dinner. But more of the land's dirt was exposed, and easily stirred up in the wind. Kiara still wasn't used to the small pebbles and other rocky debris that constantly wriggled in between her toes. Her mouth often felt gritty. The air smelled earthier, especially in the morning when the occasional dawn mist would roll halfway over the low hills to the west before the sun rubbed it out.

"It's not too far, Kiara."

Ramik led her to a towering tree. The behemoth shared one base, but something had split the single trunk in two, creating a V-shape. The bark within the split was skimpier and darker. Kiara tilted her head back. Higher up, the branches had tangled together in a mass of laced wood and dense leaves.

"Cool, huh? At least I think it is. I couldn't believe that nobody told me about this before I found it. Maybe they must not've been impressed. I mean… I'm amused too easily. I think it was struck by lightning."

Kiara's eyes went from ground to sky again.

"Do you like it?" Ramik went behind the tree and rested his chin within the point of the split.

She nodded. "Yes. It's very beautiful. It's amazing that it looks so healthy. My father would've appreciated something like this." Her face fell. "I miss him so much… As if I haven't said that a hundred times…"

"Even when you've lost count, that won't make you miss him any less."

She walked over to the tree. "And I'll never be queen. Like he wanted… Like I didn't want..." she trailed off. She'd been a foolish cub, and look where fun, play, and new friends had gotten her.

"Would you be _my_ queen? Er, if you'd like to be my queen, here in my pride, since I am my father's heir, and I do like you very much, and well… it's not the same as being queen of Pride Rock… but… well…" He let out a frustrated sigh and hid part of his face in one of the tree's trunks.

She looked at his young face, outlined by a light brown mane that framed his cheeks with stray strands. His eyes were bluer than his father's. When he looked away, self-conscious, she nuzzled him. He was stumbling over his words and practically blushing under his light fur. "I like you a lot, too…"

He jerked his head to look at her again. He grinned wide. " _Will_ you be my queen, Kiara?"

It was true—Ramik made her feel at peace. He was kind to her, and she knew she would grow to care about him even more. _Maybe this is where I'm meant to be?_

She nodded with a smile. "Yes."

* * *

"Did you patrol today?"

"Every day," Kovu told his mother as he crouched down at the watering hole for a drink. The cool water ran over his parched tongue. He dunked his head below the surface.

"Today?"

He pulled his head from the water and shook his mane out with a pleased sigh. "What? Yes, this morning. I wouldn't forget my only daily duty." He turned to his mother and raised an eyebrow.

"Tojo could surprise us at any moment. We must be ready." Zira paced. She muttered, "You must be prepared."

At first he'd been happy to see her, but like most days now, he found her paranoia grating on his nerves. Like most days, he turned to his distraught mother and said, "From where I'm standing we definitely have everything under control. What do we really have to fear?"

From the first few days on, after Tojo and his escorts had left without a fight, everybody had gorged themselves. Someone could always be found with her belly grossly distended, a pleased smirk on her face. After a few days, Kovu had ascended Pride Rock's outstretched arm and had given a roar to proclaim the Pride Lands in the name of his family. Every night, they gladly slept inside Pride Rock with a roof over their heads, their hostages safe and secure. Frightened and compliant. Zira herself slept where Simba had spent his nights in the middle of the den on a flat, raised spot in the stone floor.

Zira scolded him. "Taking the Pride Lands was easy. Keeping Pride Rock is another matter." She stopped pacing for a moment, and she tried to sit down, but her tail hardly touched the ground before she bounced up and started to pace again. "And Tojo's sons! Do you know what they could do?"

Kovu raised his head and forced a reassuring smile. In as soothing a tone as he could muster, he said, "Hey… We've all trained, Mother, you know that. We've trained to your standards. Aren't we safe?" He scoffed, "Don't we have hostages?"

His mother ground her teeth and whipped her tail. He could see it now in her quick strides and the wild look in her narrowed, occupied gaze. She doubted their safety. She didn't trust Simba's lionesses.

"They cower anytime anyone walks by them." Kovu pointed out. "We are feared. We haunt nightmares." He did want to tell her that Tojo and Kiara had given up, that Simba's lionesses would never throw away their lives or the trust they were gradually securing. Anything to put her at ease. Though, in reality, he couldn't be so sure of anything, either.

Out of necessity, Simba's lionesses were allowed to leave the den, one at a time, to relieve themselves, drink water, or hunt a little food. They had bowed to their new king, and had cooperated with their captors. Each had been assigned to a guardian. They had to stay near Pride Rock, take an escort, or report back to their guardian quickly. Sentries watched them at night. So far there had been no problems. Though, that was easy when Zira had told them that if anyone was even _thought_ to be missing, the others would pay the price. In the back of Kovu's mind, too, he knew there was no guarantee their hostages would never fight back, if given the chance. "Relax, Mother. Feel the grass under your paws like you never left the Pride Lands. Enjoy your full stomach. Enjoy it for Scar."

Zira snarled, but finally sat down. She glared at the ground. "I won't lose Pride Rock again. It's finally ours. It's yours." She looked up at her favorite son with urgency in her eyes. "I loved Scar, and I would have offered my life to save him, but he was a fool. My own father was a fool..."

A flush of indignation filled Kovu. _A fool? I'm not a fool._ Firmly, he said, "Relax. You're safe."

Zira nodded slowly, but then a bird with blue feathers flew overhead, and she muttered something about Zazu and his spies.

Leaving her to her fears, Kovu sighed, shook his head, and walked away from the watering hole. He was glad when his mother didn't follow him.

 _"Is this happiness? Pleasure? Satisfaction? I'm not even sure," Vitani had remarked one day while they'd trained and practiced, for no precise reason at all. "Have you seen Nuka lately?"_

 _"Sometimes."_

 _"I barely recognize him."_

 _"I barely recognize myself sometimes," Kovu had replied quietly._

 _"Well, we've got all the food we could ever want." She shrugged. "Now we just might be killed by our own boredom. There's that to look forward to. Because what's the alternative?"_

Kovu had nodded, but he had no reason to complain. Since he'd come to the Pride Lands, the flesh around his ribs and hips had thickened. It was strange. Looking at lions, who'd been skinny for as long as he'd known them, fatten up and begin to look more like their hostages. Even their faces looked pretty. Some looked prettier than Simba's lionesses, several of whom had ugly scars on their faces that he knew they were ashamed of. Nuka's fur alone was healthier, and he'd started to grow close to a lioness named Batzail.

They never thought he was around, Vitani had told him the day before, though few of the lionesses ever sought Kovu's company to begin with. They took care of themselves, as most lionesses did, but, if showing his face every once in a while kept them pleased, made them feel safe, it was the least Kovu could do. Walking, he found four lionesses lying together on the backside of Pride Rock in the shade.

"I don't think that zebra agreed with me," groaned Batzail, who was also one of Vitani's friends. "Oh, boy…" A grimace pinched her face.

Another lioness overheard and scratched her notched ear with her front paw. "Eat slower, why don't you."

The other two lionesses chuckled.

"I know a plant that helps with stomachaches."

Kovu looked over, as did the four lionesses. One of Simba's lionesses was just passing by, too. She stood with her legs bent, as if she was preparing to flee, but her ears were perked up like she'd caught sight of a lone cheetah's freshly-made kill.

"No thanks," Batzail snapped. "You'd poison me."

Kovu wrinkled his nose and held back a gag when the breeze shifted. _I feel like I'm being poisoned._

"I'll show you. I'll eat some so you'll see. It's helpful." The lioness glanced nervously at Kovu when she noticed him standing nearby with a sour look on his face. Her voice took on a slight tremor. "I-I really think—"

"Go choke on your tail." Batzail groaned loudly and stood up. With a head jerk, she gestured to her sisters, who stood as well. The four friends walked past the outcast lioness as she ground her teeth in annoyance. When one of Batzail's friends noticed this, she shoved the Pridelander; she lost her balance and fell. Batzail stopped and looked back, stone-faced.

"Remember your place, bitch," the bully snarled before moving away. The four lionesses walked away, almost immediately resuming their complaining chatter.

Kovu blinked, dumbstruck. He raised an eyebrow when the lioness—he thought her name was Mgana—glanced over at him and lowered her ears. This lioness was their hostage. She owed Batzail and the others nothing but mutual distaste, when Batzail's own friends had just mocked her discomfort.

Mgana's eyes grew wide. She climbed to her paws. "Good afternoon, Sire," she muttered before she dipped her head, quickly turned, and jogged away.

 _If she's not lying,_ Kovu thought as he watched her leave, _at least one of them might be good for something. Huh, Scar knows none of us are healers—only the opposite._ Kovu had little against the outcast lionesses. Now that Simba was gone.

He flicked his ear when he thought he heard someone call his name in the distance. Yes, it was his mother calling. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he loped away from Pride Rock to find some peace.

* * *

 **(A/N: If I don't post before, Merry Christmas everybody!)**


	5. What's Passed and Beyond

**(A/N: Shortish chapter for this update. Enjoy!)**

 _"You'll come with me, and I'll show you the most important thing so far in your short life," Kralj said._

 _"More important than showing you respect, Your Majesty?" Zira replied, to which her father scoffed._

 _Kralj took her to a part of their territory where she'd never been before. She'd seen the large hills that housed the caves from far away. Eyebrow raised, Zira followed her father into the dim cave that ran straight into the hill, just until it became almost impossible to see the bones that littered the cold floor. She nearly stepped on a rib. At first she thought that someone had eaten a lot of zebra and had left the bones behind._

 _She squinted. Some of the bones were darker than others, and some of the lower jaws had been separated from the rest of their scattered parts. They had no horns. No, the skulls weren't normal animal skulls. She noticed how long the teeth on the skulls were. In her mouth, she tongued her own canines._

 _"Lions?"_

 _Kralj nodded._

 _"Why're they here? What happened to them?"_

 _"This is a place of ancestors. Your baby brothers are here, too, but I put them in a different part of the cave. It's where I'll rest one day. It's where you will rest one day."_

 _"Oh…" She looked at the sheer number of bones. So many had come before her. Every few moons someone new was born into their family. Standing next to her father, she felt even smaller than usual._

 _Out of the corner of her eye, she saw markings on the wall. Wrinkling her nose against the scent of decay she'd finally noticed, she moved closer for inspection. They were paw prints. Big ones, done in either red earth._

 _"And this?"_

 _"It's a wall of the past. Sons, fathers, usurpers… A wall of kings. The kings who have ruled this land. That's mine." With a claw, Kralj pointed out the print near the bottom of the wall that looked the most unblemished against a mass of faded marks._

 _Zira looked up at Kralj, as he focused on the wall, his mouth a thin line. She noticed how his eyes looked a little softer and more thoughtful. One day, he would be bones, too. There was an empty spot to the right of Kralj's print. Zira had heard about every great thing her father had done, from how he'd raided nearby prides to take their kingdoms, to the dozens of rogues he'd killed and left for the buzzards to pick clean. Nobody could live forever, and he had no living sons._

 _"Your aunts claim one of these prints actually belonged to a queen, but nobody knows which print is hers,"Kralj laughed softly._

 _Ears perked, Zira looked back at the wall and stared intently at the paw prints. She started, but soon lost count of them. Who was she? Maybe it was true that a queen had made her mark. Maybe… maybe Kralj knew that if a queen was good enough to make it onto the wall, that there was hope that Zira, too, would be worthy of leading the pride one day?_

 _Slowly, she started to raise her right paw to hold it against the others._

 _"I regret every day that you are not a lion, Daughter. But when I'm gone, I expect you to keep this place tidy."_

 _Zira lowered her paw. No, Kralj certainly was not thinking that his heir would be anyone other than a son. Death was on his mind, and nothing else._

 _"I can't leave the responsibility to your aunts and sisters. They'd be revolted by a place like this, even still when they're dead and lying here with the others. No respect for the ancestors... I know you'll honor me." He looked down at Zira and raised an eyebrow._

 _"Yes, Your Majesty," Zira said dutifully, as excited by this news as she was to breathe air. "I won't promise to keep the flies out."_

 _"Ha," Kralj snorted. His burst of derisive humor was even harsher when echoed against the cold stone walls. He turned and led the way out of the burial cave._

 _Zira glared at his back. She felt something unfamiliar stir in her chest, and it was far from the general devotion she normally felt for her father—though she probably confused her "respect" for fear most of the time. Already she thought she had a cobweb between her toes. She pictured herself, as old as her father, smelling like death with spiders crawling through her fur. The gaps between her paws completely webbed. The bone watcher. The cleaner. Nobody was going to want her then. Nobody's love could overlook that…_

 _Zira felt the tears coming, but she blinked them away. Maybe she wasn't her father's son, but in her heart she desired more than to be the keeper of his grave. Maybe one day she'd prove to him that she really was special. He had to see. And until he finally saw her as she was, she would hate him. Oh, she would hate him…_

Kiara's body longed to be unconscious, lost to her nightmares, but that was impossible when her brain spun and sprinted away with her sense of peace. She tossed and rolled with a low sigh on the dry grass next to Ramik, who had fallen asleep within a few moments that night, even though he'd tried to stay awake. His entire face was planted on his outstretched paws, and all Kiara could see were his ears poking out of his mane. He snored. Kiara stood up and was careful not to disturb him. She'd asked for some more of the white paste, but Ramik's shaman had cut her off weeks before.

"Your Majesty?"

Kiara looked over at the ground a couple lengths behind her. Zazu had lifted his head from under his wing. He blinked sleepily.

"I'm going for a walk," She whispered. She hesitated, when Zazu gave her a skeptical look, but truthfully, she felt more like moving around than being alone. "You can come with me."

Zazu nodded.

A zebra whinnied from across the savannah, but then the night fell silent. Kiara walked until she could barely make out the shapes of her sleeping new family. With Zazu perched on her shoulder, and sitting down in the grass, Kiara tried to focus her mind and slow down her too-quick thoughts. They rattled around in her head sharply.

"Okay… concentrate…" Kiara breathed in before exhaling slowly. Ramik had tried to coach her in meditation, as a way to bring her some sort of serenity, but mastering hunting was easier than keeping her mind quiet for more than a couple seconds. Horrible thoughts intruded before she had to start the meditation over and over and over again…

 _I brought Kovu to the Pride Lands. I can't do anything—I can't DO ANYTHING!_

 _No… stay… calm. Calm… I wonder if the lionesses are getting enough sleep, enough to eat. What if they're not even alive now? What if they killed them after Tojo left? What if they starve them, make them their chew toys? What if—"_

 _NO! You're doing it again! Just… clear your mind. You've got to… you've got to clear your mind. Just like Ramik says. He's so sweet… I can't believe I told Daddy I didn't wanna be queen. Was he disappointed? Was he waiting for me to want to be queen? I didn't want to take his place, but someone had to carry on. How can I carry on for him now, take my place in the Great Circle of Life? And how many times did I ignore Mom? I never listened, and she just wanted to teach me to hunt! I couldn't even do THAT! I'm a terrible daughter! I couldn't do anything right. If only I'd listened to them, if only I'd listened to Timon and Pumbaa and I was so stupid and didn't trust Daddy, and he was right, and now he's gone! They're all gone gone gone gone—!_

"Kiara!" Zazu flapped his wings wildly, breaking her anxious trance.

Kiara blinked. She didn't even realize that she'd started to cry. She let the tears fall, unchecked in her bottomless exhaustion. "I can't forget what happened."

"If you keep tormenting yourself—Oh, Princess… I just don't know what to say…" Zazu glided to the ground at her paws.

"I'm drowning."

"I'm sorry…"

Her heart felt empty, and she wondered if the anger and sadness her thoughts brought gave her the impression that was she was still holding onto life. Made her feel. Gave her something to do, when there was nothing to be done. In her mind, she was still in flight. This frustrated her to no end.

"Don't let them win."

Kiara looked down at Zazu. "Huh?"

"Don't let them win," he blurted. He lowered his head with his wings clasped before him, as if he had digits to twiddle instead of blue feathers. He furrowed his brow. "Don't let them win." Looking back up at Kiara, he raised and lowered his clasped feathers passionately as if to pound his words in the ground, as if they were seeds for hope. He blinked back tears of his own.

"Zazu…" Kiara gently pulled him towards her other foreleg in a hug. Even if she'd always seen the hornbill as an extension of her father's heavy-handed authority, having the aging bird with her was comforting. He'd experienced than any king's majordomo deserved to see or go through. "Thank you for guiding me here. Thank you for flying home."

"As long as you're safe, there's hope, Princess."

Kiara lowered her ears and sighed, looking to the side. "Right…"

 _I'm safe… that's all…_

"I hear," Zazu began carefully with a pensive tone, "that someone is interested in another certain someone…?"

"What?" Kiara raised an eyebrow then shook her head. "Oh. Ramik you mean?"

Zazu nodded. "His family is impressive."

When she pictured Ramik's smiling face, the corners of her mouth turned up a little. "Mmhmm. He asked me to be his queen."

"Why that's terrific, Princess! Wonderful!" Zazu waved his wings. "Your parents would be thrilled!" The grinning bird then collected himself. This was the best news either of them had heard in a long time. Kiara couldn't recall a time when he'd acted so excited about anything. He cleared his throat. "Yes, well, Ramik is a fine lion. A fine heir to his pride."

Kiara looked up at the night sky, smiling, hoping her mother and father were looking down at her. Sometimes, she feared she was a prisoner of her mind. Sometimes, it felt like her heart had been set in a cage, but for as long as she was in his pride, Ramik had helped keep the cage door from slamming shut. Her chest felt warm.

"I've been meaning to visit the Pride Lands in person. I'll meet with Rafiki. He must be at the ceremony."

Kiara nodded, though a wedding ceremony was still a little ways into the future. She hesitated before she spoke, a question ready on her tongue. In the Pride Lands, the majordomo had plenty of eyes and ears in the sky, on the plains, and below ground, but he'd never reported to her like he had her father every morning. "Zazu… what's going on in the Pride Lands? Do you know? Do your sources still talk to you?"

"Yes." Zazu twitched his tail feathers and his expression turned regretful. "Not much has changed, I'm afraid. Why, well, I've heard the cheetahs have been run out, and the giraffes have been most helpful at keeping an eye on things, but thankfully the hyenas haven't moved in." Zazu shivered. "Yet."

"You don't think…?"

Zazu shook his head. "Good heavens, no. Zira may have loved Scar, but the hyenas had the last laugh."

"How are they?"

"Well I don't know how the hyenas are, nor do I care to know."

"No, I mean with Pride Rock. With our lionesses. Do you know?"

"I flew by a few days ago." Zazu paused. "I don't mean to raise your hopes, but I did spot one of ours near Pride Rock. Someone was watching her, but she was _out._ "

Exasperation filled Kiara. She wished he had told her this. "Zazu—"

"I didn't want to raise your hopes, Princess," Zazu said quickly. "Only time will tell. But… I agree… this is promising."

"Perhaps the Outsiders aren't as heartless as they think they are."

Zazu shrugged. "Indolent and apathetic is more like it," he scoffed. "Can't be bothered to be real guards to their prisoners."

"It _is_ promising," she reminded him. "They trust our lionesses."

Zazu looked like he was about to argue before he nodded. "I'll fly there tomorrow."

Kiara's gaze traveled to the black sky once more. The moon was mostly black tonight; its crescent points were sharp like the open mouth of a roaring lion in profile. Power. The Outsiders had seized power from her and her family, and had the ability to determine who lived and who died. Now Kiara was determined. Even if she had to wait and wait, she would win the Pride Lands again.


	6. Eyes Forward

_**(A/N: Update time! And happy April 1st! Sorry the last chapter lost its section dividing line, btw. :/)**_

Time in the Pride Lands crawled slowly, and the dullness of Kovu's new life quickly wore on him. He definitely didn't like the passiveness of it all. There was no longer an epic battle on the horizon that he was in charge of initiating. He tried to find comfort and purpose in his daily routine, but he wasn't really sure what there was to look forward to… Well, he knew what his future was supposed to hold, but for some frustrating reason, but a peaceful retirement from his life of violence for some reason depressed him. He felt dead in the water.

After four moons, he took a lioness named Suki as his queen. She was almost his opposite, and young, but his mother insisted on the match. Suki was a former Outsider, like him, with dark fur and honey brown eyes. She had a meek personality that made her already blunt and rough aunts and cousins look even more like the heathen warriors that they were. Often his lionesses, including his mother, mocked Suki for her softness—mostly how she wouldn't fight for food at their kills, and how she sometimes fraternized with their hostages. At the same time, Zira praised the young queen for her dutiful obedience. Kovu was confused and unable to put his toe on why Zira had picked the runt of the pride to be his queen if she disliked Suki's temperament so much.

"We grumble. We talk back to Mother, test her until the claws come out," Vitani had to explain once while the two siblings were out for a walk together. "It would hurt Suki to displease Mother. To displease anybody."

Kovu didn't love Suki, but there was no doubt she loved him. Their conversations were often one-sided, and ended when Suki lapsed into a shy muteness. She tried to tell him about her day after she asked about his, speaking sweetly to her king, praising him. She brought him young animals that she'd caught especially for him alone, when he knew he should have hunted them for her. Because she couldn't help her adoration, she would tag along when he patrolled, but because she respected his routine, she would walk far behind and remain silent, and he never engaged her. He thought she was too cub-like in her curiosity and positivity. He wouldn't even sleep in the den next to Suki at night, and when she asked him why not, he lied and said he preferred to sleep under the stars. When she'd pressed further in a rare moment of boldness, he'd lied that he wanted to guard the entrance of the den. These were the lies, or rather, at least, partial truths, he told his mother, too.

His mother sighed loudly, late one night at Pride Rock. "Kovu, I hate that you won't come inside the den anymore."

"I'm perfectly fine out here." And he really was. If he wanted to sleep in peace, the last thing he wanted was to rest his head where Simba had slept.

"I miss having you sleep near your mummy…"

He looked away. "It's okay."

"I'll pray to Scar that Suki gives us an heir soon. And many more heirs after," she then remarked. "Tomorrow I'll show you some place you might like to sleep."

He nodded tiredly. "Yes, Mother."

Zira smiled, rested a paw on his back and nuzzled the top of his head like he was still her small cub—her precious young son. "Goodnight, my King." With a chuckle, Zira turned to the den to sleep.

Kovu laid his head on his paws and closed his eyes. After a moment, his brow wrinkled as discomfort settled into his limbs. Rolling to his side, he rested so his legs were sticking out and one shoulder was under his ear in an attempt to get comfortable. When that didn't work, he gave a tense sigh and rolled onto his back.

After only a few weeks in the Pride Lands, he had started to have strange, disturbing dreams as he slept where Simba and his queen had once slept. He couldn't even _enjoy_ the den he'd fought for, and even when it rained he slept just inside the entrance. The dreams were dark, and muddled, full of disembodies screams for help. He'd woken four nights in a row, his heart hammering in his chest before deciding it would be best if he slept outside.

He remembered the first night he'd arrived at Pride Rock, and how Simba had barred him from sleeping in the den with a snarl. He wasn't sure if Kiara had seen her father's snub…

 _With Simba and the rest of the pride in the den, Kovu laid down outside in the dark, his head turned away, biding his time until morning. Kiara had padded up to Kovu, undeterred by the frown on his face._

 _"Hey, thanks for saving me today…" she'd said, good humor in a voice that sounded like a bird's pretty call to its mate._

 _She didn't deserve to even be alive. He'd sat up. "Some hunting,_ Princess _," he'd spat, then muttered, "You almost got yourself killed out there."_

 _Kiara snorted. "Umm, what?"_

 _"You wouldn't last three days on your own," he'd shot back with a laugh. Three days was generous._

 _"Oh, and you could teach me?"_

 _He'd scoffed, turning from her. "Yeah." He started to walk away, now thirsty and tired of talking, but he hadn't taken four steps before Kiara had leaped into his path._

 _"All right." With a mischievous gleam in her eye, she'd smirked at him. "Teach me to hunt. Impress me. We start a dawn," she'd ordered, to which he'd chuckled._

 _Princess…_

Did she regret sleeping in? Missing their date at dawn?

For whatever reason, Kiara frequently intruded upon his thoughts, as if his mind were her playground… It was irritating, but almost… comforting… when otherwise his mind would revive old memories of his training or the occasional worry about Tojo's pride.

Since they'd met, he'd replayed his first meeting with Kiara uncountable times, remembering how as a small cub she'd leaped on top of the unhinged jaws of a crocodile to save him, after he'd dismissed her for being a coddled Pridelander. When she'd wanted to play, she'd stopped her silly game of "tag" to mock-fight instead. On their last night together, she'd dared him with such confidence to impress her, to teach her how to properly hunt, to learn how to take care of herself… Really, he _had_ looked forward to it. But his duty to his own pride had taken priority if they had any hope of escaping their hellish squalor.

He pictured Kiara lying under the stars with Tojo's pride, kept awake by his injustice and duplicity, her eyes now dry and her heart filled with anger, wishing him an early death.

She was his enemy.

He was hers.

Why should he even think of her at all? She was just like the others. Nothing special for a Pridelander.

But for some reason her unquestionable pain brought him no satisfaction, like it did his mother or the rest of the family, no matter how much he tried to forget and harden his heart with the hate his mother had raised him on. Kiara was his victim. Killing Simba had been a means to an end, and it just so happened that he was her father.

He flicked his ear. Snapped from his thoughts, Kovu heard a noise, a strange whistle. He opened his green eyes and stood up to investigate the disturbance.

It came from below Pride Rock. He slunk down the side as he twisted his ears and looked around, stopping at Pride Rock's massive foot. It didn't sound like any other bird he'd listened to. Slightly unnerved, but unable to see anything, he glanced up at the sky. The stars twinkled above. The one thing he noticed was that they didn't seem to look as pretty in the Pride Lands; but, when daily life meant pain and going without, something as simple as starlight felt more significant.

"You are not like dem."

Kovu flinched and looked to his right. It was Rafiki. Sitting completely still on a tall rock at the foot of Pride Rock, Kovu had missed Rafiki with his long grey fur and long staff. Kovu guessed Rafiki had been making the noises. The shaman, frowning at Kovu, was close enough to talk, but far enough away that he had a chance to outrun Kovu to any tree nearby. Kovu doubted he could even reach Rafiki on the rock.

"Who? I'm not like who?" Kovu asked with a sneer.

"The Great Kings of de Past of course!" Rafiki narrowed his eyes and put one paw on his hip, studying Kovu. "Have you not heard of dem?"

Kovu shook his head.

Rafiki frowned. "I'll warn you like I warned de king you worship: no misdeed goes unpunished. Not when de Great Kings are displeased by de evil you have caused." He pointed at Kovu with an outstretched finger before his arm swung to the heavens.

"Are you trying to curse me?" Kovu growled.

Rafiki grinned. "I don't have to do any'ting. It is not I who has to worry about what I have shown to de Great Kings. I am happy with my true self. You save the king's daughter, and dare to kill dat very king. Who do you think you are? Do you think you are safe from them?"

Grinding his teeth, Kovu growled. He lunged at Rafiki, intending to frighten him, and the shaman bolted with a screeching laugh. Kovu chased him a short way before stopping, knowing it was pointless.

 _The Great Kings of the Past?_ _I can't argue that it wasn't evil to murder a king, but what are some dead guys gonna do about it? And pfff, it's probably just mystical mumbo-jumbo._

Despite this, a chill ran along Kovu's spine as he watched Rafiki disappear into the night. Frowning, Kovu looked up at the stars, in earnest this time. He tried to let the strange confrontation go, but it stuck with him all night until he finally fell asleep outside the den, a few moments before his mother woke him for his morning patrol.

* * *

 _"Why aren't we helping him! Mother? Mother!" It felt like Zira's pounding heart was trying to gag her voice. "Mother!" All the lionesses watched from a thicket of threes as Kralj faced off with two young rogues. The rogues had come to challenge Kralj that morning while everyone had been trying to stay cool on one of the hottest days Zira had ever experienced._

 _The rogue with the blond mane was bigger than the one with a reddish mane, but what Zira noticed most was how their youth made their king look less terrifying. Then she noticed, for the first time, how grey her father's mane was. If the three lions had been hooved wildebeest, her mother and aunts would have selected and hunted her father._

 _"This is how it goes, Zira," an elder lioness said coldly. "Kralj's worth nothing to us if he can't keep us safe."_

 _"But he's outnumbered! That's not fair—"_

 _"Anyone with eyes knows it's unfair," the lioness snapped._

 _They all stood at attention when the two young lions again dove at Kralj and got in a few hits with their claws before they retreated. This had been going on for some time; Zira realized that the young rogues' goal was to tire out the old king. Before finishing him off._

 _"What much in life is fair?" the lioness continued._

 _Zira loathed that she was so small. "But if we all helped him, then they'd leave!"_

 _One lioness pulled her two daughters close to her. These half-sisters were small and younger than Zira, and they looked on in awe. "Who said we can't help?" The mother dropped her voice. "I don't think Kralj has a chance…"_

 _"Our compassion would bring shame upon Kralj," the elder argued. "Do you think he wants us to help him?" The elder then looked at the young cubs. Sadness turned down the corners of her mouth and caused her eyebrows to arch. She then looked at Zira. "If these rogues defeat your father, Zira, you must leave us."_

 _"Huh?" Zira flinched. "W-why?"_

 _"You're strong. You're young, but you might have a fighting chance. If these rogues exile or kill Kralj, they'll want to mate with us." The elder paused and gave Zira a hard look. "You aren't nearly old enough for that yet, and you aren't their daughter."_

 _A roar cut through the air. The rogues' attack was more brutal this time, and Zira closed her eyes, snatching a glance when the roars of agony returned to a menacing rumble again. Kralj had a deep wound to his hip, which made it hard for him to rest his full weight on the leg. The flesh hung away partially from his body. The king lowered his head and snarled at the rogues, keeping his eyes on them at all times as they circled him and tried to get at his backside._

 _Zira's mother leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Zira, they always kill the cubs of the previous king."_

 _Zira tensed and choked on her breath. Coughing, she was seized by the full severity of the threat the rogues posed. The lives of Kralj's cubs were at as much stake as his own._

 _All three lions were panting hard, and now the intensity and frequency of the rogues' attacks escalated. Zira watched. The two rogues barely had a scratch on them; it was easy to see why. When Kralj dove at the light-maned one, delivering a couple blows to his head, the red-maned monster sunk his teeth and claws into Kralj's backside, and the old king found himself trapped between the two. He struggled to break away to regroup. Kralj couldn't get a good attack in without taking twice the damage to himself._

 _"He's not what he was." The elder lioness shook her head. "Zira, you don't need to see this anymore. You need a head start."_

 _"W-where do I go?"_

 _"Any way but west. There's a bigger pride in the west—well, they're so big I don't really call them a pride—and I'm sure you'd fit in, but they don't like outsiders."_

 _Zira looked around, hoping even one of her older sisters might come with her, but they all refused to look at their much younger half-sister, or the infants. When Zira had been born, most of her half-sisters were seven moons or older. They, and the cubs her mother had had before her, had all been born within days of each other. Zira's mother had lost all her young cubs and had to start over with Zira. She was tenderlessly wedged in the middle._

 _"You're not going to help me?" Zira squeaked, and embarrassment at her voice filled her cheeks._

 _Now nobody would look at her, and why would they? She sounded, and probably looked, pathetic. Zira's mother stood up, moved away, and muttered something to an older lioness. They were looking at Kralj, or maybe not him at all, but into their future with the two rogues. It was like they'd already decided to cross a river that was almost too wide for them to cross, and certainly there was no hope of swimming across without losing the weakest of them._

 _Zira lashed her tail angrily and turned around, hesitating for a moment. Anywhere but west? How vague and indifferent could they be? Over her shoulder she looked at her mother's back one last time. Trembling, and in a shrill voice she yelled, "You're all cowards!" The sickness in her gut was no match for the tightness and pain in her chest as she ran away with the roars of lions ringing in her ears._

 _Now there was no choice but to move forward into the darkness._

 ** _(A/N: No Kiara section this time, but we'll check back in with her next chapter. And Kovu doesn't seem like a very happy camper, but he is starting to reap what he sowed...)_**


	7. Coming Together

Kiara wasn't sure what Ramik wanted that morning when, with a lick of her ear, he asked her to meet him later that afternoon. It was still dark out and she cracked one bleary eye to peek at him.

"What…?"

"I'll be by the lightning split tree, darling. Don't come on an empty stomach."

She'd perked her ears and opened her mouth to press further, but Ramik was already jogging away from the pride to catch up with his father to go on their morning patrol. She had glimpsed Tojo's backside in the distance.

Her whiskers had barely dried after her visit to the watering hole when she met up with Ramik while he sparred with his younger brother, Kenyi, in the shade of the lightning split tree. They shoved and snapped their jaws at each other, and only paused a second to nod in Kiara's direction. Kenyi landed a heavy paw right on Ramik's nose. Her future mate chuffed and wrinkled his muzzle.

Sitting down to watch the rest of the match, Kiara curled her tail around her paws. The sunshine felt warm on her face, and as she watched them train together, a faint memory filled her vision.

Her parents would often play-fight together. It was a spontaneous thing they would do when they were out for a family walk. She'd always pictured them as cubs, leaping on each other and rolling around in very much the same way. A corner of her mouth quirked up in a smile. Nala had almost always bested her father in those wrestling matches, and it hadn't been because he'd just let her win.

The match ended when Kenyi stood panting tiredly over his brother. Ramik was on his back, limbs tucked close to his body and a grin on his muzzle.

"You barely pushed me! I'm not some kid cub anymore."

Ramik glanced over at Kiara. He stood up as he winked at her. "You think I'm humoring you, little shaman?"

"Shaman! No!" Kenyi's brow crinkled and his mouth puckered in offense. He grumbled, "You know… I'm not gonna help Tinni. It's not going to happen. Fight me seriously so I can be one of your guards."

Ramik smiled in an almost fatherly manner. "Not before you're my size and your mane grows in."

"You'll get there before you know it," Kiara added.

Kenyi rolled his eyes. A short, jagged strip of light brown mane hedged the back of his neck like teeth in a lower jaw. His pale, narrow chest was still barren. She never would have shamed him by saying it out loud, but he still had a cub's face. Sometimes, it struck her as peculiar that he was clearly still so young, considering, of all Ramik's brothers, Kenyi was the most serious and mature. He muttered, "Are we done today?"

Ramik nodded and playfully nudged his younger brother with a paw before Kenyi loped off, leaving the pair alone.

Kiara smiled at Ramik. Slowly, she'd adapted to her new life, and had learned what it was like to be loved by a partner. Looking back, it was a godsend that Ramik had been so welcoming and willing to help her adjust and recover.

By the start of the next rainy season, Ramik would make her his future queen. She hadn't sorted out in her mind how she felt about it. It had barely sunk in at all, and her sullenness about losing the Pride Lands hadn't at all faded. Tojo was right to say that she was lucky, but what did that really mean? She still felt silly and useless… Maybe not entirely useless, but close to it… She would be queen of a pride she had no familial attachment to, or at least not until she produced Ramik's heir. Would they respect her? The other lionesses were friendly enough, but they were still leery of her. And what was that going to mean for the Pride Lands and the family she had abandoned?

 _I suppose I'll find all that out soon enough,_ she thought as Ramik came over and nuzzled her.

"Sweetheart, glad you came."

She nuzzled him back. His breath was warm and his fur smelled wonderful. "What's up?"

"Well…" He nosed her ear affectionately and licked her cheek. "I thought we could spend some time combat training, too. Just the two of us."

Kiara perked her ears, surprised by the offer. " _Really?"_

Her mother and a couple of the other lionesses from her pride had taught her a few combat moves. Inwardly she cringed. Her knowledge paled in comparison to the rigorous training undertaken by the Outsiders.

If she had any hope of taking back her home, she would need to know much, much more about war. She rarely spoke about her dreams to Ramik, but she trusted that he would not hesitate to help her.

She grinned. "All right, teach me."

"I love training with my brothers." Ramik beamed. "I want you to be able to protect yourself, too. To know your limits, and hopefully stretch them."

Kiara squared her shoulders and nodded, feeling a spark of enthusiasm. When Ramik mirrored her pose, her eyes reflexively flicked to his large paws and forelegs. Her heart sank a little. He was powerful. But it didn't even cross her mind that he wouldn't treat her _even_ _more_ carefully than he had his brother.

He showed her several defensive moves, coaching her in a level voice. She learned how she might be able to deflect a strike or how to roll away of someone's grasp, even if only for a few seconds. Then they began to practice. They used no claws. Using only light nips, they play-fought, but stayed on task. At first Kiara felt awkward. She was decent at dodging Ramik and staying just out of his reach, but that quickly tired her out. He easily caught her. And the lightest blow unsteadied her.

 _I can't even imagine the damage he could do if he really wanted to hurt me. He's not even in his prime…_

Perhaps too stubborn for her own good, she got right back up again and again and tried to focus on what he wanted her to learn. She wasn't supposed to _beat_ him; she only needed to defend herself, right?

They were panting hard. Smiling, Ramik ordered, "Now… _attack_ me. _Really attack me._ You're holding back."

 _"I'm_ holding back?"

He raised his brow and gave her a look. _This is about you, not me…_

She admitted she was holding back a little, too, but probably not as much as he perhaps thought. It took time and concentration, to shut down her frustration and hopelessness that Ramik was so much stronger without even trying, and to get over her aversion to harming him. But soon, she imagined that she could at least last more than a second against an attacker. She beat him over the face rapidly, imagining the damage it could do to his vision. When she had the opportunity, she baited him and used his own momentum against him. He roared loudly as he stuck out a paw, and she raised hers to deflect the strike.

The claws on her right paw slipped out in the heat of the moment and drew blood on Ramik's upper foreleg. As he looked down with a flinch and a semi-dazed look, she inwardly cringed and jumped to his side. A drop of blood trickled from the small wound.

"Ooops! I didn't mean—"

He laughed. "I'm sure I'll survive, Kiara… It doesn't bother me at all."

She relaxed and smiled shyly up at him, still breathing hard. "I'll clean it for you later."

Ramik gave her a tender smile and lowered his head. He was about to lick her forehead when a voice called—

"Very good!"

Kiara turned at the unfamiliar voice. The couple had been distracted while Tojo and a guest had arrived to watch them. Tojo stood with a chocolate brown-furred lion with a thick, dark brown mane that faded into black in the middle of his chest. The dark-furred lion grinned, causing his orange-brown eyes to squint.

Kiara straightened her posture and nodded. "Thank you," she breathed, trying not to wheeze while she caught her breath.

"I'd recognize the daughter of Nala and Simba anywhere."

Ramik leaned into Kiara's ear. "That's Chumvi. He was from the Pride Lands like our fathers. Grew up together. He never got a pride of his own. Could, though."

She didn't doubt that. Chumvi was smaller than Tojo and Ramik, but his frame was bulkier. Thinking back, she faintly remembered that he'd visited her pride once or twice, perhaps at a time when she'd been barely old enough to acknowledge strangers. He was a nomad more than anything, and obviously did well even without a harem. "It's nice to really meet you." She dipped her head to the rogue.

"Keep practicing," Chumvi remarked. "It might make a real villain out of you."

"Yes, a queen should be capable. Just like her mother." Tojo turned to Chumvi. "Ceremony is in a few moons. We're lucky to have her."

Chumvi grinned at the couple, but his joy didn't reach his eyes this time. Kiara suspected he preferred the single life. "Ah. I'm sure Simba will smile down proudly on you two."

Kiara nodded. "They'd be happy for me and Ramik."

They chatted a few more minutes before Chumvi went on his way and Tojo pulled Ramik aside to speak with him. As he spoke with his father, she saw the agitation in Ramik's eyes, the way his agreeable smile became forced. Like always. They might have been father and son, but they were two very different lions. Kiara strained her ears to pick up what they were saying; it was no use. She didn't like to eavesdrop on the prince… it was just… something seemed… off.

Ramik, looking more uneasy than usual, walked back over to her, and Tojo left.

"You all right?"

Ramik gave her a smile, but he hesitated.

Kiara lowered her ears. "What?"

"I'll tell you later," he whispered. He sighed. "I think we're done here for the day, huh?"

She could only nod. Nuzzling Ramik's cheek, she asked if he wanted to nap together beneath the split tree while she licked his scratches. Ramik agreed, and within moments of snuggling beneath the tree he was sound asleep. What had Tojo said? She watched his sleeping face and waited for it to relax, but the tension around his mouth and eyes gave him away.

She wanted to believe there was nothing wrong, but something told her otherwise.

Batzail used her claws to pinch the tiny bits of dry grass from Nuka's mane, snorting through her nose and muttering to herself as she tidied her mate's appearance like he was her cub. A tick showed itself in his mane and she crunched it with her teeth.

While Nuka rested on his side, enjoying the strengthening dawn light, she hovered over him. He wondered if she would let him get away to hunt and bring her breakfast.

Sometimes Nuka wondered if even Vitani was surprised that he'd found a mate… Someone who leaped at the chance to groom him, who offered words of comfort before he even realized he needed them, and someone who wanted his friendship—when few wanted that. He'd always liked Batzail, and once they'd come to the Pride Lands, she'd stopped her feeble attempts to discourage his advances. His mother had wanted everyone to stay on task in the Outlands. And they definitely did not need more mouths to feed. Now, there was nobody to forbid him from romancing a mate and taking her for his own.

"Just watch yourself, Nuka," Vitani had warned him when he'd admittedly gushed about his undying love for Batzail. "Kovu's still a new king with a new queen. Don't make yourself a target. You don't want to look like competition."

He'd snorted at his sister's words. Not everything was about Kovu anymore, and his fleas concerned him more than Suki did. Kovu had done what their mother had wanted; why couldn't the son who'd been cast aside all those years ago finally enjoy himself?

 _Haven't I suffered enough?_

When Kovu had been a cub, Nuka had dreamed that his younger brother would get too skinny or sick, and that they'd have to bury his frail body beneath the cracked earth of the Outlands. He'd even thought of a couple places that their mother might pick for the grave. His mother would have cried over her dead son until she realized that Nuka was the child she should have held up and honored all along…

 _I can't stand him…_

Kovu had often led hunts when they'd grown up. Nuka wished that a wildebeest or zebra would kick the dearly beloved _Chosen One_ in the jaw or skull. If anyone should be unlucky enough to choke on a bone, he hoped that one would lodge in Kovu's throat.

Batzail pulled a bur from his fur and he flinched.

Nuka wished more than anything that Death would take Kovu away from them. _He_ was supposed to be Scar's heir—not a cub fathered by some drifter his mother had used behind his father's back! But what he could to do about it all now—he had hardly a clue. As far as Kovu was concerned, they'd won the Pride Lands. End of story…

Nuka glanced at Batzail's growing belly.

He smiled. Maybe he had _some_ clue. Or maybe it didn't bother him as much that there was nothing left to be done. The future was uncertain and open.

But above all, Nuka wanted Batzail to be as comfortable as possible during her pregnancy. They'd found a little home together, far enough away from Pride Rock that their pridemates had to make a conscious decision to look for them. Thick bushes surrounded several old and shady trees. A few birds lived in the branches. They had learned when a serval had walked by one day that the birds would scream at any perceived threat.

Nuka turned his head and tried to lick Batzail's cheek, but she reared back and swatted at his nose playfully. She kept her paw raised.

"I didn't get all the grass yet."

Nuka snapped his teeth at the air near his mate's paw. "You're more annoying than termites!"

"You're not going to look like garbage."

With a playful growl, he caught her in his arms and rolled on his back. She struggled, but he tightened his hold and laughed. Soon, she was laughing, too.

It was comforting to feel her round belly against his side. He loved it when she called him over to feel the life, or lives, moving within her. To feel a twitching limb or a wriggling body. He'd never felt anything better—he'd felt his mother's belly when Kovu and Vitani had been on the way, but _this_ birth… words could not encapsulate his happiness.

"You're gonna have a son, Nuka. What should we call him?"

He scoffed. "How d'you know?"

Batzail snorted back and raised her head to look him in the eye. "I just know. At least one son." She settled back in with her cheek on his mane. She jostled her shoulder, getting comfortable. "I just do."

Nuka went wistful. "I would love that…"

She looked up at him. "So what're we gonna name him?"

He'd thought for a long time about what he'd name a son, if he should ever get one. Warmth spread through his chest and a slow smile ran up Nuka's muzzle into his cheeks.

"Taka."

* * *

 ** _(A/N: Thank you guys for reading! Little bit of a hiatus with this story, but more in a slow-update-kind-of-way. A couple of you checked in with me about King's Heir, which I really appreciated, so thank you!_**

 ** _If you are enjoying this story, tell me about it! 3)_**


	8. Born of the Heart

**_(A/N: I meant to upload several days ago, but was unable to login to my account. Please enjoy, and thanks for following, faving, and commenting, you guys! 3 I've been thinking a lot on where I want this project to go. You'll definitely see an inkling of it in this chapter.)_**

* * *

 _The land beyond her father's territory was vast and at once familiar and alien. It sprawled before Zira. Once her initial fear and shock thawed, her mind leaped to figure out what to do with so much of the unknown fixed before her. She'd never dreamed her life could take this kind of a turn… but now… at least her life was her own._

 _She took some comfort in that._

 _She thought she might cry that first night alone. Miles from her family. As far away from those murdering rogues as her paws had physically been able to take her. Then had been the time for it. But her cheeks stayed dry that night as she cleaned her raw paw pads. She was too numb and too tired to wail like a fussy infant, and in the morning she decided that going forward she would push away her self-pity._

 _Morning came around…_

 _Probably, if she had been home, she would have been hunting for her father._

 _Noon…_

 _She'd be down by the river with her small cousins, watching the water for them and listening for danger. In the last moon, her aunts had entrusted her to lead the younger cubs to the river to drink._

 _Night…_

 _She'd either be curled against her mother's side or be waiting for the haunting bleats of a fresh dinner to bellow across the savannah._

 _A couple more days went by and it seemed like a lifetime had passed since her world had been thrown into chaos. She really was on her own._ _To the best she could, she tried to push the memories of her former home from her mind, but it only made her ache with loneliness. It made those first days of wandering feel endless. No matter how tight she closed her eyes, her ears perked for any hint of danger, she would not wake up in her pride ever again._

 _Surviving wasn't as hard as she feared. She spent her waking hours hunting, and only once in a moon of wandering and traveling did she go to sleep with pains in her stomach. What made life uneasy were the packs of hyenas with bone-cracking jaws, the herds of aggressive elephants, and the need to be careful while hunting. That most of all frayed her nerves and kept her muscles on edge. If she couldn't eat, she had no chance._

 _What wasn't against her was the weather through her long journey. She also took satisfaction in hunting meals for herself that were appreciated, and in the morning dread did not fill her at the possibility of being beaten._

 _Zira did fear that her solitude would never end. The tone of her mother's voice was gradually fading from her memory, as were the faces of the younger cubs. Her father would never NEVER slip from her memory, but a small part of her missed him. She'd seen several prides. None had welcomed her, and she'd moved on quickly. There was no fight that she could afford. But she envied the lionesses from afar as they lazed under trees, their young king nearby with his proud head erect. Uncountable dozing cubs strewn about._

 _"I'll find it," Zira muttered to herself, and occasionally repeated to keep her spirits up. "I'll find mine. My pride. It's out here."_

 _She eventually lost track of time, but every day she grew stronger—less afraid of the world. She survived a dry season. Kept herself safe. She traveled south before turning west._

 _A weak rain was falling on her back and head one day when Zira crossed the border into a new pride's territory, hoping to find something quick to fill her belly. She killed a young zebra fowl and had her jaws around its throbbing, thrashing neck when a smooth, rumbling voice spoke behind her. Her nostrils flared._

 _"My, my… you're either very brave or very stupid."_

 _Zira froze. Hackles raised, she spun around, her belly hugging the ground. A young lion with brown fur and almond-shaped green eyes sat erect, staring at her. Part of his deep black mane had grown in to frame his narrow, expressionless face. His chest was still bare._

 _The young zebra exhaustedly tried to get back on its hooves, and instinctively Zira pounced on it to keep it down. She quickly dispatched it with a bite to the back of the neck. Her attention then turned back to the lion. She opened her mouth to reply, but no words came. Only a weak snarl that made her face flush. She started to shake, but tightened her muscles. She'd never been this close to any male who wasn't her father. She thought she could fight this lion if it meant she could get away, but she stood no chance if he was determined to kill her._

 _"Well!" he snapped. The lion lifted his tufted chin. "I'm waiting…"_

 _Zira lowered her ears. She glanced at the dead zebra and started to move away. While he stole her meal, she could make her escape._

 _"Don't be thick. Why are you here?"_

 _"I… umm…" She glanced from the zebra back to the stranger. She murmured, "You can just take it…"_

 _The lion's lids lowered half-way over his green eyes. "I'm not hungry."_

 _She eyed his narrow, skinny frame, but thought better of asking if he was so sure. His lionesses weren't feeding him well, that was for sure, or perhaps he had a parasite. How could he pass up a free meal? She'd never seen anyone so skinny! "I needed to hunt. I was going to be on my way after." She shrugged, trying to stay calm._

 _"Then don't make that foal's mother suffer in vain. Eat." The lion lay down with a ghost of a smile on his lips. He rested one paw over the other a reasonable distance away._

 _Zira blinked and looked down at the zebra. He didn't have to invite her twice. Cautiously, she bit into her meal and tore off a piece. Her muscles relaxed, but she kept her guard up. After a few bites to dull her hunger, she said, "Thank you… er… er…" She looked to him for his name. When he didn't respond, she said, "You can call me Zira."_

 _"I thought you were going to be right on your way?"_

 _"Yes of course," she said quickly. "But does that mean I can't thank you properly?"_

 _A smile. "Be glad you're not in any real trouble. Mufasa and Father act first and talk later."_

 _A shiver ran down her back, but she smiled back. "Then I'm glad I was found by someone so kind."_

 _He snorted and rolled his eyes at the compliment._

 _Zira ate in silence again, chewing and watching the lion as he licked his forelegs. She swallowed. "I haven't talked to anyone since I left my pride."_

 _He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Aren't you a bit young to be on your own?"_

 _She held a bite of food in her mouth, unable to swallow it for a moment to respond. She got it down and replied, "Tell me your name."_

 _A slow smile formed on his lips. "Prince Taka of the Pride Lands."_

 _She nodded. Taka… "Rogues came to fight my father. He didn't stand a chance, and neither did I. I had no future in that pride anyway."_

 _"I see…"_

 _Her kill disappeared quickly as her hunger came on fully, and for now at least she was satisfied. The bones of her kill cleaned, she sighed in relief and cleaned her face and chest a little. Overstaying her welcome crossed her mind. Taka didn't seem like he needed her to hurry along, though. She glanced at him when she thought he wouldn't notice._

 _He was maybe twice her age, she guessed. He wasn't overly aggressive, and she thought that any lion worth his strength could kill Taka, given half a chance._

 _Taka stood up and stretched. "I suppose it's time we go our separate ways."_

 _She nodded acceptingly, though the absence of someone to talk to, and the thought of returning to her solitude, didn't let her meal sit well. She looked at Taka as he stared her down, waiting for her to move on. He'd taken pity on her. He didn't owe her anything more. Zira turned and walked away._

If only everyone could be so trustworthy and giving, _she thought to herself._

 _She'd walked for a few minutes when Taka surprised her and appeared at her side. He moved in front of her to stop her. She was immediately on alert and growled. "If you touch me, I'll—"_

 _"Now, now. Perhaps I've been thoughtless."_

 _"Thoughtless?" Her heart thumped faster. Did he regret his generosity? It had been too good to be true that he should let her go so eas—_

 _Taka smirked. "I've forgotten my manners."_

 _Zira raised a brow. "What?"_

 _"Perhaps you should stay—as long as you like."_

 _"Ah…" Zira flicked her ears. "I thought I'd go my way and you'd go—"_

 _"No, no, no—I merely_ supposed _. Hey." Taka eyes brightened. "Why, wouldn't you know that my father and brother are constantly complaining that there aren't enough lionesses around to do the hunting?"_

 _Zira's heart fluttered._

 _"Well, Zira?"_

 _Her heart fluttered again. She met his eyes, and for a moment she couldn't speak. In that moment, she wished that time could stop so didn't have to just gawk at Taka like she'd never seen another lion. She blinked and shook her head to clear her thoughts. "And what if I like being alone?"_

 _"My brother accuses me of having no compassion, and I'd like to prove him wrong. We can be alone together. I keep to myself."_

 _This was a miracle. Was this the place she was meant to be? She waited a moment in case she was supposed to wake up from a dream fueled by wishful thinking._

 _"Zira, you dare to make me grovel?"_

 _She glanced away. Her cheeks flushed. "I won't stay if I don't like it."_

 _He assured her that she would, and not to worry about anything. She followed him deeper into the Pride Lands, making light chatter, and the moment she laid eye on Pride Rock something stirred within her and she knew she could live nowhere else for the rest of her life._

 _Taka raised a paw and closed her jaw for her, much to her stunned embarrassment. He chuckled._

 _"Welcome to the Pride Lands, Zira."_

* * *

The air was warm and dry as it swept over the grasses and ran its fingers through the tree leaves. Kovu welcomed the breeze, and it helped to keep the bugs away. He lay with his paws crossed, a quarter mile from a large herd of gazelle. He watched them tear off grass and weeds with their stubby teeth and wondered if they really thought grass tasted good, or if they really just didn't know any better.

"Hey!"

A few gazelle in the herd looked up and started the flow of a slow stampede. They could tolerate one visible lion but no more than that. Kovu stood and turned at the voice of his sister. He'd talked about going for a hunt with her. A smile broadened his muzzle, but it slipped away and he groaned inwardly when he saw Nuka jogging in her wake as he chatted animatedly with their sister.

Vitani laughed at something Nuka said. Kovu had hardly spoken a word to his brother since they'd taken their new home, and thankfully Nuka had stayed out of the way. Kovu resigned to tolerating his brother when Nuka's voice struck him as a little too bold.

"She thinks it's gonna be a boy."

"She's just saying that."

"No! Batzail's sure of it."

"She's _sure_ of _everything."_

"We're gonna name him Taka." Nuka gave Kovu a pointed look.

Kovu frowned and raised a brow at Vitani. He didn't think their mother would appreciate Nuka using Scar's birth name.

"Hmmm…" Vitani made an uncertain sound. She muttered, "Thought you were going to reconsider, Nuka?"

"No." Nuka snorted. He shook his head. "He's Scar's grandson."

"But Mother—"

Kovu ground his teeth as Nuka went on about what he'd say to Zira if she protested. Nuka was a coward; he could never stand up to their mother. And once she heard the cub's name, or if Nuka even had a son before Kovu... the supposed kings above couldn't help Nuka.

"Really, Nuka." Vitani gave Kovu a pointed look. "Mother… You shouldn't bring attention to your future cubs."

"It might be dangerous," Kovu remarked.

Nuka flinched and snarled. He glared at Kovu. "And what does that mean?"

"It means what it means." There was no way that Zira would leap for joy over any son by Nuka.

Nuka shook in anger. "If you come close to my son—"

Kovu snorted and gave Vitani a look. Nuka's overreaction rubbed him the wrong way. He lifted his chin. "All I'm saying is—"

"You're just jealous that I've passed on Scar's blood—Y-you probably haven't even lain with Suki!"

"Ha!" Kovu let out a loud laugh, though he felt a hot stab of anger at his brother's taunt. He smirked. "Did Scar even ever touch _you?_ Let you near him?"

That was it. Muttering under his breath, Nuka bunched his muscles and pounced at Kovu, but, Kovu easily shoved his brother to the ground. The fight was over before it started. Nuka stayed down and glared up at Kovu.

"He chose _me_ over _you_ ," Kovu snarled. "I'm his heir." He tapped the side of his head. "Finally learn that."

Nuka narrowed his eyes, but had nothing to say. He turned his face away.

Kovu took a step back. Vitani came forward and helped their older brother to his paws. She shook her head at Kovu. To Nuka, she said, "I bet Batzail wouldn't mind if we visited. C'mon."

Like a spoiled infant, Nuka grumbled and followed after Vitani, his head down. Kovu watched them go. His muscles were rigid. He closed his eyes, let out a sigh, and shook his head. Thoughtfully, he flicked his ears. So what if Nuka was Scar's son? It didn't matter.

Disgruntled, he walked to the small den near Pride Rock. His mother had remembered it was there, and had said that Scar had used it in his youth. Suki was inside and brightened instantly when she saw him. He had hoped that she'd be out with her friends.

"Hello, my king. How are you?" Suki greeted him with her soft voice and eyes.

"I'm fine."

"How was your mother today?"

"She was fine, too."

Suki watched his face like she was watching the movements of a crocodile-infested watering hole. "No she wasn't…" She stared harder. "Or it was something else…"

Kovu looked down at Suki's sleek, lithe belly. He'd hoped she would have given him cubs by now. He imagined himself fussing over his family's meals, making sure his cubs were growing stronger every day. In a perfect world…

Nuka was right about one thing.

He hadn't never mated with Suki.

Kovu lay down next to her. After a few moments, Suki scooted over to him and, purring, nuzzled him. She was always affectionate. "My king…" She nuzzled him harder before she rolled over on her back, her head on his paws, and licked his mane. Playfully, she batted at his chin.

Inwardly, Kovu sighed and cringed. He closed his eyes and whispered, "Not now, Suki."

He felt Suki flinch and shift around. She removed her paw from his face. After a moment, she said, "I'm sorry."

Opening his eyes, he looked at the back of Suki's head. Her ears were lowered. He knew there were tears forming in her eyes. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to mate with her. And he didn't have the words to comfort her for only trying to fulfill her duty.

"When do you think Batzail is due?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I'm… I'm not sure." She paused. "Soon… I guess."

In the Outlands, no cubs had been born after Suki, and nobody had yet to give birth. "Oh… I thought you might know."

"You'll have to ask the elders." Suki rolled off his paws, keeping her eyes down. "I don't know."

"Suki, do you know if Vitani has been with anyone?"

Finally she looked at him. She cocked her head to the side. "Anyone who?"

"Males. She's been disappearing a lot."

"So do you." Giving Kovu a tight smile, Suki replied, "She wouldn't do anything that would put the pride at risk. It's Vitani."

That was true. He didn't really think he had to worry about Vitani. Essentially, however, she was still a lioness, and someone with a mind that was very much her own. He stood. "Are you hungry?" he asked brusquely, not really waiting for her answer, though he thought she made an uncertain peep.

More loudly, when he was at the mouth of the den, she called, "I love you, my king."

Kovu walked out of the den, cringing at her words rather than echoing them.

* * *

"Father wants to me order my brothers to leave."

Kiara's eyes widened. She knew something had been bothering Ramik since Chumvi's visit. She wasn't surprised by Tojo's order, but the look on Ramik's face was devastating. "When?" she asked, a tightness forming in her throat and a soreness gathering in the pit of her stomach.

"Soon… end of season… Chumvi volunteered to help them get their footing… but…" Ramik looked at his paws. "I want them to stay… C-can't I count on my own brothers to help me protect our pride? And… I had hoped one day we'd all be strong enough, and that we could all take Pride Rock back from the Outsiders. We could do it together."

The story of her family's history floated into the forefront of her mind. She bit her lip. Tojo's fears that they would overthrow Ramik one day weren't unfounded. But as far as she knew, the brothers were harmless. They were kind and respectful. They loved their pride. They rarely quarreled. But they were _young._ And would want mates of their own one day. One brother was enough, when Ramik had three.

"Pff…" Ramik's voice lowered to imitate his father's. "'Even a brother's blood can be overlooked when one's eyes are set on power.'" He looked at her. "He's wrong, right?"

Kiara was unsure what to say, but she knew Ramik could guess what was on her mind.

"I would know if they were anything like Scar."

Her face flushed. "If I've learned anything… kindness can mean blindness…" She looked at the ground.

"This world's harsh enough already. The least I can do is to be kind." She'd never heard any sort of sharpness in his voice before, and it stung. He dismissed himself and said he would see her at bedtime.

 _I don't distrust his brothers…_ Kiara's stomach twisted. _I won't stand to see him hurt. His father only wants what's best for him and the pride. Brothers must leave each other._


	9. Heir

**(A/N: Yay update! Thanks for reading, you guys! 3)**

Nuka stayed away from Pride Rock for several days after their fight. If he could keep his arrogant head down, less trouble could brew between the brothers; the less they crossed paths the better. A voice similar in tone to Vitani's played in the back of Kovu's mind. _You don't have to turn on Nuka every time he shows up._ It would be hard not to when their older brother had such a fat mouth.

 _And if he needs to be reminded of his place, then so be it._

Unfortunately Nuka's absence came to an end only too soon. One afternoon, while Kovu and the lionesses were eating at their buffalo kill, Vitani appeared and conversationally announced that Batzail had given birth. Vitani added quietly that the other two cubs in the litter had died within a day. Kovu rolled his eyes. He would not lose sleep and his heart would not twist over the loss of his brother's cubs.

"They've got a son and he seems healthy."

Almost immediately, the other lionesses perked up and cooed happily, telling Vitani to pass on their condolences. Kovu raised a brow. Judging by Vitani's dazed expression she also hadn't expected anyone but herself to care about Nuka's children. A slow, pleasant smile crept up on her muzzle as the congratulatory chatter continued. Batzail, after all, was the first to give birth in the Pride Lands.

Kovu set his mouth in a hard line. He silenced a snotty exclamation and a growl from deep inside himself. _Nuka got his wish I guess._

"Do we get to _see_ this son?" Zira asked. She raised her head from her meal and regarded Vitani neutrally.

"Not sure… Not for a while. She's protective. The usual for a mother," Vitani replied, "but I doubt they'd turn away visitors. They're pretty pleased with themselves."

Zira continued to eat, aloof, not adding much else to the surrounding conversation. At first. Kovu looked harder. Horrified, he could see the interest build up in her eyes like a flood moving over dry, thirsty dirt. A smile. A dozen thoughts looked like they were buzzing behind her ruby red eyes. He also saw a spark of pride or righteousness… either proved a sore sight to see and a chill went up his neck.

"Batzail has brought new life to our pride in our new home. Perhaps proper congratulations are in order." She nodded to a couple lionesses. "Take them food. No mother goes hungry." Standing up, Zira gestured to Suki. "Come with me," she barked tersely.

Suki's eyes widened and she looked at Kovu.

Where his mother was going with his queen was unclear. Were they going to visit Batzail? He looked away and dug his teeth into the kill in front of him, feeling irritated. When his mother talked to Suki it was never good. The pair left together with Suki trailing behind Zira, but they didn't head in the direction of Nuka's den. Kovu waited until they were well away before abruptly leaving the kill.

He knew then what his mother was going to say to Suki. He pinned his ears to his head. There was no way of _knowing_ yet if what he felt in his gut was right or not, but he felt sure. Guilt burned behind his ears as he pictured the scolding his queen would receive… and none of it was her fault. She'd tried.

 _Maybe I should have sucked it up and done my duty as king._ It was insulting that _Nuka_ had had a cub before him—and a son! His face flushed with anger and he narrowed his eyes. He'd disappointed himself.

Feeling unbearably self-conscious, he went to his and Suki's cave, stayed there for the rest of the day, and waited for her. He was worried and was thinking about going to look for her when she appeared at the mouth of their den that evening, her head lowered and her shoulders slack. It was nearly dark and it wasn't until she came closer that he saw her squinted left eye and puffy lid.

He stiffened and growled softly as she shuffled towards him.

"It didn't really hurt," Suki whispered. She stopped in front of him a few lengths away, her head down. She looked up at him with doe eyes.

His body was alive with anger. Someone had harmed _his_ queen. "What did Mother say?"

"That I'm no queen. That I've failed you." She sniffed softly. "I lied that we've been trying, so she thinks it's… that I can't…"

Kovu looked at his paws, his anger buckling inward slightly. Of course, he hadn't touched Suki. Not even once. That's why she wasn't pregnant. "You've done more for me than I have for you," he muttered.

After a moment she nodded.

With a little more feeling, he added, "This… wasn't your fault."

"I want to be a good queen to you."

"I know." He lay down and patted his paw on the spot next to him. When she came to lie next to him, he gently tipped her chin up with a paw and looked at her eye. The injury wasn't bad, but it refreshed his anger again. His mother had dared to lay a paw on Suki without a second thought. Suki didn't look him in the eye until he said, "Mother won't do this again."

Suki looked doubtful, but she nodded anyway.

Kovu rested a foreleg over her back and moved closer to embrace her. She moved closer, too, and started to lick his face. Without thinking, he pulled away.

 _I don't deserve someone like you,_ came a fleeting thought out of nowhere.

He whispered, "Not tonight… I want you to rest."

Disappointment filled her eyes, and frustration pinched her mouth. Her voice was sharp. "Kovu—"

"In the morning," he blurted. "Promise. Not when we're both upset." Rolling on his back, he pulled her closer and nuzzled her head, hoping to calm her down as she lay on his chest. He rested his chin between her ears, waiting. When after a few moments she let out a sigh and her muscles relaxed, he breathed a sigh of relief as he stared out the den entrance. It felt strange to show Suki affection.

"I just want to make you happy, Kovu." Suki said this often, but this time her words stabbed like claws.

"I know…" He waited with baited breath for more, but she settled in, and her breathing turned even as she drifted off without him.

* * *

The sun was bright and the breeze was cool for once, but Kiara struggled to enjoy it. A heavy lump rested in her throat and stomach. Ramik was taking the news of his brothers' evictions hard. Ramik had hardly talked to Kiara since Tojo had told him to throw his brothers out, but she was more concerned that he was talking to nobody else, either. He usually talked to everyone, even if it took him a couple days to make his rounds. The night before, he'd snuggled against her like a lonely cub. He didn't say anything, however, and it hadn't felt like the right moment to ask him how he was dealing with the situation. The other lionesses were tense, too, and Tojo was grumpier than usual. He'd snapped at nearly everyone in the pride and many planned on giving the king the cold shoulder in return for his bad temper.

She was both thankful for being spared hours of pointless, reckless musing and was also irritated when Tojo found her alone and told her he wanted to talk.

"Yes, King Tojo?" She replied with mild dread, noticing how tense he seemed and how his eyes looked harder than normal. _I'm sure I'm about to do all the listening and he'll do all the talking._

She waited for him to sit down, but the big lion remained standing. He was good at looming, that was for sure. "You're aware of my disagreement with Ramik," Tojo began. "I can't seem to convince him to encourage his brothers to leave, as I have. And I'm sure it has something to do with you and your family."

Kiara stared. Anger crept up. Was Tojo accusing her of conspiring with Ramik to keep the brothers together? _Well, that is a little bit true… just not directly true._ She opened her mouth.

Tojo lifted his chin and continued unfalteringly like a charging buffalo, without giving her a chance to defend herself. "This is my kingdom. I created it when I had nothing, when I had no father of my own to show me the way. Even when I'm gone, I don't want my sons to fight over what I created. I want someone to keep the lionesses and their young cubs—my cubs—within it safe. I don't want my sons to turn on each other when they could have their own prides. I've seen the future, and I would like what I worked for to not be in vain."

"I know better than anyone what it's like for a brother to kill out of jealousy," Kiara replied coolly. She paused a beat as a surprising, impulsive reply built up in her mouth. "I don't disagree with you..."

Tojo squinted his eyes, studying her face. "…But you don't _agree_ with me?"

Both sides frustrated her, and it frustrated her own self that she couldn't make up her mind. _I should be able to pick a side, and I_ know _what side that should be._ "I don't think demonizing your own sons is how you're going to get your way," she replied. "More lions might mean a stronger pride—"

"…but more voices can weaken it. If you were in my position, the protector of a pride I am very soon to pass on, you'd feel as I do, Princess." Tojo's harsh voice told her his temper was churning below the surface of his otherwise flat demeanor. She wondered how many hours of the day he spent thinking about how malicious his sons could be. What kinds of nightmares he might have that were inspiring his fear.

She could never proclaim that she had as much strength as a full-grown male on her own, or that she had as much responsibility as he did, because she wasn't Tojo. Kiara sighed. Keeping her voice level, she tried to reason with the king. "No, but the best way to make someone take an interest in disliking you is to start by saying their hearts and minds are dishonest, and that they're out of get everyone. Nobody likes to be told they're someone they're not.

"If my father hadn't been chased off by the hyenas," she continued, "and if _maybe_ Scar had allowed him to live to adulthood, don't you think he would have tried to convince my father that _you_ and Chumvi and all his other friends were out to get him?"

"That's only speculation," Tojo scoffed. But then he went quiet and seemed to think for a bit.

Kiara gave a tired but anxious smile. "See? Doesn't feel so good to be compared to Scar now does it? I think that's Ramik's point."

Tojo looked to the side and sat down. "Yes, but even the best of us can be tricked. Imagine if your father had honored his instincts and chased Kovu away. I would have chased that heathen away the second I saw him, no questions asked. I don't care that Kovu saved you. I don't care that he's not Zira himself, because she still raised him to adulthood. The one unfortunate thing about your father was that he did trust. A lot _too_ much."

The words stung. Her father could have done away with Kovu from the start, too, and maybe her parents would be alive now. A second of weakness made Kiara's eyes prickle with tears, but she blinked them away rapidly. Her pride wouldn't be one of captives and she would be at home. "The Outsiders would've just tried harder."

Tojo gave a slight smirk. "I don't doubt that… but there's no point in speculating what has already happened when we can speculate on what is to come. To prepare."

She looked at her paws. She wished she knew the right path, so that she was ready for what lay ahead, rather than letting time drag her forward, kicking and biting, into the darkness.

Tojo sighed. "Sometimes Death can smile back at you even brighter than your truest friend ever could… and sometimes those with the best intentions leave themselves open to danger."

He then was quiet for a long time, looking out into the landscape. She felt like he was building up to saying something, and the waiting was unbearable and irritating. It was clear Tojo was thinking of his family. And Chumvi _would_ help the young sons transition into their new lives. As she thought, she wondered if maybe part of growing up was learning when to be kind… and when to self-preserve…

"I want you to tell Ramik that his brothers are to go, and that is how it will be."

Snapped from her thoughts, Kiara's face flushed. How could she convince Ramik when he refused to listen to his own father? She'd touched a nerve already without meaning to when she hadn't leaped to agree with Ramik about the truth in Tojo's demands. She had no idea how upset if would make her future mate if she wouldn't side with him against Tojo.

"You can't be on his side, Kiara. At all," Tojo went on. His face hardened again, and she knew to say no in any way would be like trying to move a boulder. "This is still my pride, my land, and I have hosted you here out of my duty to your parents."

 _And if I support Ramik… I'm a threat…_ Kiara didn't ignore the feeling she was being bullied, but deep inside she _was_ very afraid that Tojo was right. Again, she wished she could see into the future, and in that moment, Rafiki came to mind. As Tojo waited for her compliant response, his eyes boring into her, she had a clearer sense that she needed to speak with the shaman.

"I'll speak with Ramik," Kiara promised. "I'm also going to speak with Rafiki if I can." When Tojo looked confused about how speaking to Rafiki was relevant, she added, "I'd like to know if he's seen anything."

Tojo's eyes darkened, but not out of irritation towards her. "Talk to our shaman, Kiara, too," he urged. "Please. I've already talked with Tinni." He said nothing else, but looked sick to his stomach. He looked like he wanted to retch when he added, "Take Ramik with you. I told him to visit her but he still hasn't. You need to hear what she has to say."

"Okay…" Had Tinni said anything alarming to her king? She wished that Tojo had led with this news instead of trying to bully her, though he was king and he was to be obeyed, she supposed. An ominous chill ran through Kiara's whole body. Of course Tojo would seek counsel from his own shaman. The King's orders and hard personality had let her forget that he was still a rational ruler who wasn't above listening to others.

Tojo then said he was going back to the pride and asked if she wanted to walk with him. She was still enjoying her alone time, and now she had even more to think about.

Walking away, Tojo stopped for a moment, looked over his shoulder, and said in a more or less calm voice, "I don't hate my sons… I want the best for them. I'm trying to help each of them have a future, and it just so happens that Ramik is the first born, and that means he stays with the pride… and that he must sacrifice his relationships with his brothers."

Kiara arched her brows sadly. Tojo turned away and left her to figure out what ever that she could say to change Ramik's heart.


	10. Your Ally

_**(A/N: This chapter took a lot of exploratory rewriting to get to where it is now. I've also been busy with my Etsy and commission artist ventures (which pay my bills), so I don't have as much mental energy to put towards something that's basically extracurricular. Anyway, Halloween is next week, which celebrates 1 year of posting this story! Yay!)**_

* * *

One by one, Vitani's pridesisters visited Nuka and Batzail and gushed over the pride's first new son. They loved how little Taka's soft, brown, speckled pelt shone with a healthy gleam. How strongly he wobbled around. How bright his green eyes were when they finally opened. Within time, he began to pounce on —or rather bounce at—anything and everything that caught his eye.

They squealed over each milestone and it made Vitani's heart swell in her chest.

Batzail lied that Taka was still nameless. She casually waved off suggestions she ought to consider, like Akoni, Nassor, or Moja.

"A cub's name is important. It's how the spirits know you. How anybody knows you. Those spirits, they keep your eyes on your goals. Guide you."

It was an old superstition. Vitani had heard the lioness say it before. Back then, Zira had hit the lioness upside the head for speaking such nonsense.

Vitani frowned to herself. Nuka and Batzail had only announced Taka's name to Kovu, Suki, and Vitani…. And she had warned them to keep it from anybody else. For now.

 _Wonder how Mother will react…? She's definitely warmed up to the idea of Nuka having a son. But naming him after Scar himself without prior permission…?_

She feared it was a step over the line, and there was already tension in the air. She wasn't sure if anyone else sensed it, or cared, but Vitani didn't like it.

She couldn't put her toe on what tangibly bothered her, either.

One hot, sullen afternoon, Vitani went on patrol with Kovu. Suki had also come along, but she walked far behind the brother and sister.

Kovu didn't radiate with energy; his face was long, exhausted. Eyes dull. He stalked around like an old, used up lion at the end of a long reign. Many young rogues of their age would be overwhelmingly excited about leading a strong, promising pride. And Kovu only did the bare minimum.

Vitani asked her brother when they'd finished the patrol, "There's going to be a hunt later. You coming?"

Suki caught up with them and took a position next to Kovu. Shyly, she smiled up at him. "I'd love to hunt with you."

Kovu barely glanced at Suki and looked away. "I won't make it."

Vitani snorted. "Oh?"

"Sorry," Kovu muttered stiffly.

"Never thought there'd be a time when _you_ would be the type to show up at the end of the hunt and not participate."

"Well, sorry."

Vitani rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath. "Jeeze… More for us then."

Without a word, Kovu turned from his sister and queen. Suki said a good-bye to her mate, but got no reply. There was a frustrated desperation in the queen's eyes as Kovu walked away.

No part of Vitani wanted to comfort Suki. But she did pity her. She shook her head and turned away as well, uncaring if Suki followed her or not.

"Umm… Vitani. Vitani?"

Paw raised mid-step, Vitani looked over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

Suki's ears flattened and her mouth curved down. It was the look of a lioness afraid of anything more than her shadow. She avoided actually looking at Vitani's face. The last blackened eye she'd gotten from Zira had finally healed, Vitani noticed.

"Can… Do you have time to talk?"

Vitani raised a brow. "About…?"

Suki hesitated and in a voice barely above a whisper she said, "Kovu."

Spending any time talking with Suki had never been something that she'd done. She guessed it had taken most of Suki's courage to speak up. Vitani blinked, then shrugged and nodded.

Suki led the way and Vitani walked beside her. The two lionesses stopped under a shady tree to keep cool. Before they lay down, Suki had to untuck her tail from between her legs, which had a slight tremor. Inwardly, Vitani cringed.

 _No… is it really Suki's fault? Probably scared of me…_ Vitani crossed one forepaw over the other, smiling at Suki despite her slight repulsion.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Oh…" Suki murmured, tilting her head to the side, looking down at the dirt. "It's just…" Tears welled up in Suki's eyes. "I'm not… And Kovu..." Her chin began to quiver. Looking sidelong, she attempted to keep her demeanor.

Vitani waited for Suki to recover herself. When it seemed like Suki's emotions had definitely betrayed her, she realized she'd have to lead the poor girl through whatever it was she wanted to blubber about. Sure, Suki was a weakling, but Vitani didn't find enjoyment in seeing tears run down Suki's face, and she was her queen, after all.

 _Way to go, Kovu. Thanks for caring so much about Suki._

She sighed through her nose. Vitani smiled, trying to look as concerned and as trust-worthy as possible.

"Did Kovu upset you?"

Suki nodded.

"Are you upset because of something he did?"

More nodding.

"Is it because he didn't want to go to the hunt later?"

"Yes… But…" The trembling in Suki's limbs came back. After a moment, Suki looked down at her paws in shame and shook her head. "It's… It's _so_ much more than that." Her voice was thin, frazzled, but her chin lifted a fraction. "It's…"

Suki's naturally sweet face darkened and puckered.

And it all flooded out.

"H-he's never touched me… like, you know… I don't know why—I've tried. I've tried so many times, Vitani, and it's like I _disgust_ him." Beneath her words, a spur of anger stuck the air. "I don't know why. I don't know why. He doesn't talk to me. He won't tell me! Your mother! Sh-she—your mother yells at me and says I'm no good and that it's my entire fault and she doesn't even let me explain. She just beats me!" Suki stopped, panting tearfully and shuddering now with anger.

 _Mother tends to do that_. Vitani stared, stunned. Suki had obviously lied about mating with Kovu—perhaps to protect him. It was mildly admirable. No wonder Mother blamed Suki _._

Slowly, Suki looked up again, her teary eyes wide. She looked afraid, but also… relieved? "What's wrong with me?" Suki sniffled and bit out between her teeth in the harshest tone Vitani had ever heard her speak in. "I can't give him a son if he won't—you know…"

Vitani gritted her teeth. Injustice had been done against Suki, but for no reason other than the circumstances that had brought her to be Kovu's submissive mate—by Zira's choice. Did Suki realize she did not have the power of a proper queen? Wherever she was, she tried to make herself as small and non-threatening as possible. Suki didn't lounge or sit, she crouched. In the open she still tried to hide. Even if she'd been born in Simba's pride, Suki would've been the most submissive of the bunch—as hostages they'd shown more boldness than Suki. She _had_ to know what was wrong with her; if she didn't, she'd have to learn on her own. It wouldn't do her any good for Vitani to yell and spell out exactly why she was so pathetic.

But maybe that was beside the point.

Vitani wasn't sure if she completely believed in love; Suki certainly did. But one didn't _need_ love to have cubs. Nuka had a son. Kovu had nothing to show for it, and being the _Chosen_ _One_ wasn't enough anymore. Why wouldn'ther brother want cubs, too? He was used to doing their mother's bidding, and this was what was now required of the King.

Suki's confession wiggled something terrifying loose in the back of Vitani's mind. Her senses felt sharper. Maybe there was something to the tension she felt surrounding little Taka's position in the pride.

"Has my brother said anything threatening about Taka?"

"W-what?" Suki looked on the verge of crying again. "I don't understand…"

The image of Scar planning the murders of Mufasa and Simba floated into Vitani's mind. "Would Kovu _ever_ hurt Taka?" Vitani waited stiffly. Was Suki going to lie to protect Kovu? "Does he speak badly of Taka?"

Repeated again, the question startled the young queen. A guarded look came over her face. She narrowed her eyes and said nothing for a moment before her expression became thoughtful.

"You've gotta tell me if you think he—"

"No! He doesn't say much about Taka… He hasn't even seen Taka yet. I don't really talk about Taka to him, either." Suki bit her lip. "But…"

Vitani perked her ears. "What?"

Suki looked away. The tip of her tail twitched. "He asked me once if _you_ were seeing anyone."

Vitani kept her expression blank while an unexpected shiver and a feeling of foreboding crept up the back of her neck into her head. Did Kovu think she would betray him?

Suki squinted and lowered her ears as if bracing for a beating. "You aren't… right?"

"No _,_ " Vitani said firmly. Finding a mate was the furthest thing from her mind. She looked to the side, moving her ears, thinking. _This is something I can't ignore._ _This just proves Kovu's losing his confidence._

"…Do you think Kovu would hurt a cub…?"

 _Would he?_ Vitani would be whole-heartedly stupid if she believed him incapable. "Maybe."

Suki looked sickened.

Vitani stood up. She loomed over Suki. "I need you to help me keep my nephew safe. Anything odd Kovu says, report it to me. Understood?"

Suki's ears folded back. She nodded.

Truthfully, if Vitani were in her queen's position, she wouldn't think twice if her mate needed to remove such a minor threat to the throne. Taka wasn't of Suki's blood, and Nuka _was_ a pain. She hoped she wasn't overestimating Suki's soft heart and frustration with Kovu. For good measure, she added, "I'll keep you as safe as I can from Mother. Alright?"

Doubt flickered in Suki's eyes, but she agreed. Whether Suki believed her or not, Vitani would keep her promise. She had grown less and less afraid of her mother since coming to the Pride Lands.

"And I'll try to talk to Kovu about _his_ duty as king." Vitani didn't make Suki any promises, but the young queen was too distraught for comfort.

A flash of relief. "Thank you."

Over and over in her mind she replayed Kovu and Nuka's fight, the one that had occurred while Batzail had been pregnant.

 _"…It might be dangerous."_

 _"And what does that mean?"_

 _"It means what it means."_

How had she brushed that off so easily? The edgy feeling in the pit of her stomach told her the infant, on his own, was in no danger. At least until he grew stronger; even then he wouldn't have the same training. Unfortunately, Batzail and Nuka were having too good a time of things. Possibilities shone in their eyes. She could try knocking some humbleness into Nuka and Batzail soon.

 _And if that doesn't work…?_

What could she do? Tell the family to leave? They loved the Pride Lands, probably more than anybody else.

 _It's little Taka I have to think about most, not Kovu, not Suki, not Nuka or Batzail. Taka._

Vitani smiled at Suki, who timidly smiled back at her new ally. Both sadly and with some confidence, Vitani felt like she'd confirmed her fears. She couldn't shape the facts into anything else, and she knew that if she did nothing, Taka would be in trouble.

It was not a _good_ _thing_ that Taka was the new favorite.

* * *

Kiara and Ramik walked to Tinni's. Her home was inside a grove of trees—a little hut pieced together with tangled branches. Ramik went inside to see if she was there, but Tinni was nowhere to be found.

"Huh… she's normally here this time of day, meditating or whatever…" Ramik muttered. He shrugged and rolled his shoulders with a surly expression.

Kiara sat down and lowered her ears slightly. Ramik still wasn't really speaking to her and the loss of communication had made that morning awkward. She'd asked Ramik to come with her to visit Tinni, saying she wanted to be introduced properly to someone she really was meeting for the first time. Tinni's medicine had helped her get through the initial shock of losing her family after all. She needed the shaman's help once more.

 _Please show up soon, Tinni!_ Kiara anxiously played with the dirt at her paws.

It had been several days since Tojo had talked to her, and he had been hardly subtle about pushing her forward. She'd risen early and had practiced what she would say to Ramik regarding his brothers… _how_ she would say it... She knew how much her taking Tojo's side would hurt Ramik, and it made her heart heavy and stuffed up. Kiara hoped whatever Tinni had to say would be enough to convince Ramik that his father was right to turn the brothers out of the pride. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she wasn't sure what it was going to take to make Ramik change his mind and heart.

 _Thump… thump… thump…_

Kiara swiveled her ears and both lions turned around. A young bull elephant was approaching. Maybe he was looking for medicine, or wanted Tinni to take care of a dying family member. The elephant came up within a few lengths of Tinni's hut before coming to a halt.

"What do you want?" came a voice from the elephant, though it hadn't appeared to speak.

"Kiara wanted to visit you, Tinni," Ramik replied.

"Ah." A small mandrill poked her head up from behind the elephant's much bigger skull. The elephant lazily fanned its ears as Tinni tapped its head. The apparent signal brought the elephant's trunk up to her. The elephant gently wrapped its prehensile nose around her waist and placed her on the ground like he'd plucked a tiny leaf from a tree branch. "King said to watch for you. Said you should hear the future."

"He said that, huh?" Ramik muttered.

With a grin that was missing more than a few teeth, Tinni smiled up at the elephant. "That will be all, Boto. Be good."

Tinni was a mandrill like Rafiki, but was half his size. Her mouth had a sunken look to it. She waved to the elephant as he lumbered away before she, slowly with a pained gait, motioned the lions to follow her into the hut.

Ramik gave Kiara a suspicious look, but she smiled back and jutted her chin at Tinni.

"After you."

* * *

 _ **[P.S. If you love my previous TLK "books" and wish to buy me some time to work more quickly on this story, you can find a Ko-fi donation link located on the profile of my Shembre DeviantArt account. And of course, reviews are always great! :) The next chapter update will probably be as slow as this one unfortunately. :( I do try to update once a month... What do you guys think of Suki and Vitani kind of teaming up, and what do you think Tinni has to say to Ramik and Kiara?]**_


	11. Prophecy

**(A/N: New chapter after a realllllly long hiatus! Many of you asked for updates. I had a lot of things that took me away from this story, including my two from-home jobs. I also needed a break to reflect on this story and figure out what I want to take away from writing it. I have a few ideas now and I'm mostly deciding on the pacing/length for this story.**

 **I don't know when I'll be able to upload next. It took me several months to put down the words for this chapter, so I don't have a set schedule. We shall see. Anyway, please enjoy!)**

* * *

"I feel guilt."

Kiara raised a brow and glanced at Ramik. _This'll be a weird visit to Tinni's home,_ the princess thought.

Her mate-to-be looked morbid. "Oh, is that so?" Ramik replied flatly.

Tinni gave a raspy sigh. Tapped her chin. "I can feel the power of what I'm about to tell you." As if the words actually had weight, the mandrill shaman made two fists, which she clenched and unclenched.

"Don't let it get to your head, Tinni."

She flashed a gap-toothed smile at Ramik. "Power to _my_ head? Never."

Inside Tinni's hut, Ramik sat down and Kiara sat beside him. The princess's eyes took a moment to adjust to the dim light in the cozy space—made cozier by the sheer number of artifacts Tinni had collected and displayed.

She guessed it would take a whole day to take inventory of every shiny shell, feather, and odd bit of non-natural debris that dangled from the low, curved ceiling. Tinni's bed looked like a scaled-up bird's nest, and along the sloping back wall was a collection of elaborate walking sticks. The one Kiara liked the best was the simplest; it reminded her of the staff Rafiki carried—a dark wood item with dried, rust-colored gourds tied to the top.

 _This den is beautiful… Mother would've loved it…_ She tried picturing if a lion's den could ever be so pretty, but decided it probably only worked for Tinni's home.

Kiara glanced at Ramik's paws. His extended claws worried her. He wasn't usually a tense lion, and he hadn't dug them too deeply into the dirt, but clearly he was preparing for what Tinni had to say.

 _Or else he's stopping himself from fleeing._

Gently, Kiara covered his toes with her paw. When he didn't shake off and reject her support, she breathed a sigh. His claws receded back into a relaxed position and she smiled to herself.

Without warning, Tinni reached up and grabbed Ramik's cheeks with her small hands, pulling his face down towards hers, their muzzles nearly touching. Ramik stared back, wide-eyed.

Tinni squinted. "Your mind's cluttered, Father's Heir. Your eyes—foggy. Your heart…" Tinni's attention was drawn to something in Ramik's brown mane. With one hand still on his face, she plucked it from his fur with her nimble fingers before popping whatever it was between her lips. "Constipated." She crunched down on the specimen and swallowed.

Ramik snorted and rolled his blue eyes. "Not unlike my father?"

Tinni didn't respond. Her small hands slid from Ramik's face. She turned to Kiara, took the princess's right paw, lifted it, and stroked it tenderly.

Kiara smiled and giggled. Tinni's forwardness and odd, jarring way of directing a conversation caught her off guard, but it was somewhat endearing.

"Look at her, Ramik. Came through hell and shaking off that ash. I don't envy those who wronged you, Kiara. Did my best to ease you back to life, did I?" Tinni squeezed her paw gently. "A flower that just needed a little light and some water."

"Thank you for helping me," Kiara replied before giving a shiver. The road back to sanity had by no means been smooth, and she still struggled daily, but she loathed to think about how much bumpier it would have been without Tinni's medicine. Kiara nodded and smiled. "Really. Thank you."

Ramik cleared his throat sharply. "I hate to be hasty. What's Father so worried about?" He made a face of apology. "Tinni, any other day, I'd visit, but—"

Tinni raised a hand and nodded. "Yes, yes." She gestured for them to lie down and relax. "Settle in. I must get into headspace I was in when King come to me." Reverently, hands clasped, she looked up at the ceiling of her home. "May I learn more."

Kiara caught the anxiety in Ramik's eyes. They both lay down, their sides touching.

They patiently watched the shaman as she hopped about and gathered up several items—the top half of a turtle's shell, a handful of water-smoothed pebbles and glass, feathers, and a few bone fragments. She also dipped her fingers into a gourd filled with red, chalky dust. She painted two lines below each eye before adding a vertical stripe down the center of her face from hairline to chin.

A few lengths in front of them, Tinni placed her staff on the ground and sat down, legs crossed with the upturned shell in her lap. She gripped the flared sides of the shell. With a cough to clear her throat, she closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

"I… I've met a disturbance like this before. Its touch is familiar. I worry that…" Tinni grimaced and squeezed her eyes more tightly shut. "I'm sorry, it's still out of focus. It may have yet to begin, but it's there. Waiting. The will is festering in the heart. It be worrisome, yes."

Looking on, Kiara lowered her ears.

"Things are changing. They will fast."

"Why can't my brothers stay? Why do I have to make them leave?" Ramik asked. "Is that why Father's acting like a… well, like a mad king?"

Tinni didn't answer. For too long, Kiara was sure Ramik's questions had fallen on deaf ears…

 _No, she heard him._

Tinni's entire face scrunched up and she flinched, as if someone had poked her with their claws. She muttered under her breath, something about seeing a rising sun, before she continued with a grating, harsh tone.

"Flames smolder within a heart, run through blood of he who lusts after more, he who feels unjust. It's hate—hate that burns worse like fire." Tinni's eyes remained closed, but she twisted her head up, as if straining to hear a faint whisper in the distance. "Yes," she murmured with a visible shiver that rocked her body. "Yes, _that's_ what feels so familiar."

Ramik's body rose an inch as if he was ready to spring at Tinni in his eagerness to hear what she'd seen. "What?"

Her eyes remained closed ever still. The tension in the hut expanded and the faint shadows around them seemed to grow.

 _Yes, what is it?_

The mandrill's face fell and she became sullen, close to weeping. "Bad blood between a son and an uncle, I fear. A deep wound…one not to stop festering."

In confusion, Ramik arched his brows.

Kiara could only imagine the horrors going through his mind. _Great Kings, her words are terrifying_. Her grandfather, father, and Scar immediately came to the forefront of her thoughts. Although they weren't related to any of the lions in Tojo's pride except for her, she couldn't help but think of them. Was _that_ what made Tinni's vision feel familiar? Was Tinni remembering what had happened to her Great-Uncle's soul, how he'd been corrupted by greed and hatred? Maybe there really was _something_ rational about Tojo's seemingly irrational fears. Just maybe. But did that matter when Ramik's brothers seemed completely happy and passive? Were they hiding their true selves just that well?

"Do you think Ramik will have a nephew who will hurt him in the future?" Kiara asked. She added quietly, grief-stricken, "Will _we_ have a son who will hurt them…?"

Humming to herself, perhaps out of comfort, Tinni reached into the turtle shell and trancedly wiggled her fingers through the feathers, bones, shells, and pebbles. She then abruptly dumped the bowl, sending debris clattering across the floor. To Kiara's dismay, a majority of the bone fragments rolled and clattered to a stop at the tips of her paws. Even a tiny mouse skull rolled upright and stared back at her with empty sockets.

A chill went down Kiara's spine as she gaped at the objects. A gasp left her.

"Enough!"

Ramik all but slapped a paw across Kiara's shoulders, startling her to gasp again. He curled his lip at Tinni. "Enough! It's just your imagination overacting. I didn't come here to let you scare me like you've scared my father and Kiara."

In that second, Kiara snapped from her spell of anxiety. She shook her head to try clearing her thoughts, but was only halfway successful.

 _I should have realized I was getting caught up in Tinni's visions,_ she scolded herself, staring forward. _Obviously it's all up to Tinni's interpretation. Tojo's interpretation._

Tinni could say whatever she wanted… Though, the results of the prophetic musings _did_ leave Kiara feeling more uneasy than before, and she couldn't quite shake the sick grip of dread. _Her words felt so real._ Blinking, she couldn't help but to gaze down at the bones at her paws. _Why are they closest to me?_

Ramik's attempts to get Tinni's attention by calling her name brought Kiara out of her thoughts.

The shaman blinked and seemed to come to, but not completely. Her eyelids drooped and her body sagged with the turtle shell slack in her hands. Her pupils were barely visible.

"Tinni," Ramik growled. "Tinni!"

With sharp attention, Tinni finally snapped from her dazed state. She frowned at Ramik, taking him in like an insolent cub. "How you feel about warning of the future not my fault, and does not remove its danger." She held up a finger. "Just heed it."

Kiara watched tensely as the prophesier and the prince stared each other down. Her body shook a little as she observed the stalemate.

Finally, Ramik said, almost through gritted teeth, "I won't send my brothers away on vague warnings. Point to them directly and I might actually consider it." Before anyone could stop him, he turned to leave. "Kiara, let's go," he shot over his shoulder with one last cool glare at Tinni.

Still shaking, Kiara stood to go, too. When she took a step, however, Tinni snatched her tail and tugged the princess off balance. Kiara gasped and opened her mouth, but was cut off.

"If you dare take a life, look in the eyes of your enemy and let final words pass over lip."

A violent chill went down Kiara's spine. She knew she was gaping at Tinni, looking more frightened than before. Her stomach twisted with fear and embarrassment. "W-what?"

The shaman grew even surlier. Her grip on Kiara's tail hurt. " _Listen_ to the words of the dying. Death is not the answer if you cannot give the courtesy."

"Kiara? Kiara!"

Kiara trembled. She yanked her tail free and stumbled for the exit without looking back. Faintly, she heard Ramik call her again. If not for the sobering effect of his voice, she might have stayed absorbed there, staring back at Tinni.

"Heed my words!" Tinni called out as Kiara fled to Ramik's side several lengths away from the odd dwelling.

"You all right?" Ramik asked.

Shaken, Kiara nodded.

"We shouldn't've come here." Ramik shook his head. "I'd never insult her by calling her an old superstitious fool, but…"

"Uh-huh…"

"Let's get out of here." As if fleeing from danger, Ramik turned and took off at a brisk run.

Kiara chased after him, mind still shell-shocked. She only knew to follow the prince. They weren't heading in any particular direction, they just ran. But by the time he stopped and they began to walk, the overwhelming fear in her mind had thankfully faded.

 _What even just happened?_

The sound of Ramik's pawsteps beside her felt too loud. Kiara glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. They'd heard Tinni's news, the very information Tojo was using to chase away the brothers. But what did it mean? Did it mean _anything_?

 _Say something already, Ramik,_ she begged inwardly.

Ramik was quiet for a long time before he finally spoke up, his voice subdued.

"I can't believe my father would be stirred to action by tales that would scare cubs."

"She scared you, Ramik."

Ramik regarded her with a concerned frown.

"Well…" Kiara started apprehensively, "You ran out of there like you were facing down a stampede, didn't you?"

Ramik didn't argue, only looking away with shame in his eyes.

Kiara looked at the ground as they walked. She disliked what Tinni had said. It spooked her… and though she hated to admit it… she still agreed with Tojo. The brothers deserved to live lives of their own, whether they were already dangerous or not.

"I don't want to believe my brothers are evil, Kiara. I don't want to listen to Tinni… but now…"

She held herself back for a moment before she whispered, "When someone's unhappiness offers the excuse for chaos, they don't always hold themselves back…"

"Part of me is scared that she's not out of her mind. That she's saying the truth and not just gibberish." Ramik stopped for a moment. "She's been right before. Oddly right… but right."

"What?" Another chill went through Kiara. "Like what?"

"She was on edge a few days before the Outsiders overthrew your pride, though she didn't know why. She's also very good a predicting when and which herds come and go, almost to the day, if not better… it's her specialty…" Ramik paused before adding, "And… And I'm fairly sure Tinni hinted to my mother around the time she thought she might die."

Kiara blinked. "How?"

"I don't remember much; I didn't get to spend much time with her right before she died. She was constantly at Tinni's and didn't take me with her like she sometimes had before. It was at the start of the raining season… I think they knew something bad was coming even though things were good. There were lots of cubs expected that season, and the hunting wasn't dismal. And more than at any other time in my life, my father spent nearly all his waking energy with my mother. "

Kiara lowered her ears. Ramik rarely mentioned his mother. Not because he'd disliked her, but she suspected it hurt too much to live in the memory long enough to speak of her. She'd died in a hunting accident and her death had left young Ramik heartbroken.

"How does sending my brothers away stop what we don't know for sure will happen? Why did Father come to _this_ conclusion? Do I not know my brothers? Are they lying to me?" Ramik asked, voice cracking. "Can't I just ask them to not have... families..." Ramik trailed off, looking even more distressed.

Kiara lowered her ears. She felt the stone of grief at the pit of her stomach. Whether the prophecy was true or false, whether Kiara and Ramik had cubs, whether or not the brothers were permitted to have families, it would be better for all if the brothers left. "Your father won't let them stay," Kiara reminded him, feeling cruel for doing so.

Ramik lowered his head.

"He believes Tinni's prophecy with every fiber of his body. And his word is law." _Aren't we too young for this? Making such big decisions?_ She bit the inside of her cheek. No, it was time, and sooner rather than later. Tojo's pride needed them to make these hard choices, to set their own selves aside in favor of leadership and guidance.

After a long moment and a sniffle, Ramik slowly nodded. Once he'd lifted his head, he'd more or less composed himself, or at least locked his emotions away behind a stony expression. "I'll talk to them tomorrow." He let out a sigh, his eyes losing focus as he became lost in thought.

 _"If you dare take a life, look into the eyes of your enemy and let final words pass over lip..."_ Tinni's words whispered in her own mind.

Kiara nibbled on her lip anxiously. She raised her head. "Umm… Ramik?"

"Yeah?" Ramik replied, if not somewhat distracted.

She opened her mouth, and was surprised by the actual words that came from her mouth, instead of what she thought to say, "Let's go for a little hunt to blow of some steam. What'd'ya say?"

Ramik's smile didn't last long but she was happy to get a little one out of him. He put his nose to her forehead. "Okay." He nuzzled and licked her face before starting to walk.

She wasn't sure why she kept what Tinni had said to herself…It didn't make a bit of sense, but the impression it gave her made her stomach turn.

She _was not_ a killer. Not like those heathens who had taken her parents from her, who still now made her pridesisters suffer needlessly when they'd already been humiliated and stripped of their security… No, not like them.

 _"Death is not the answer…"_

* * *

A whimper rose up from Suki. Kovu lifted his head in their dark den. He hadn't been sleeping, though he could see that Suki was resting, albeit fitfully. She fell silent again.

 _"I just want to make you happy…"_

Kovu's stomach turned over in his belly. That night, he'd finally done his duty as king. Mated. _And I still couldn't make either of us happy,_ he thought, wrapping his tail around himself more tightly.

He repulsed himself; it had been awkward beyond his expectations, without passion. He hadn't anticipated that the act would hurt his queen, and at the end her clear discomfort and his own temper had caused him to pull away and to let her go more roughly than he should have.

 _Maybe this will make Vitani and Mother happy. Ancestors, please give us an heir quickly._

How much could he give of himself in _that_ way? Would Suki gape at him like he was a monster after every engagement? He shivered. If cubs didn't come soon, or come at all, Kovu was wholly certain that Nuka, Batzail, and little Taka would steal his throne.

 _What if they're eliminated now? Before there's three instead of two? Before the whole pride turns their back on you? Their place is beneath their king, and they should be reminded of their place…_

Yes, they were cocky, weren't they? Kovu brushed the ruminations aside, though his anger still lingered. He sat up and stretched quietly, extending his paws far out in front of him. What it meant to be king, he really wasn't sure. And did he _really_ care?

Yes.

 _It's my birthright. I am a king's heir, hand-chosen by Scar._

Power. Power to finally have a little say over his life, power to hunt on land of his own, power to walk wherever he pleased. At that moment of bitterness, however, he was reminded of how little the pride lionesses and his mother thought of his ruling style. The way they now looked at him, without a gleam of pride and hope in their gazes, was entirely foreign to him. He stared into the dark outside his den. The praise of those around him had once been as constant as the stars in the sky.

 _"You brilliant child!"_

 _"One day Kovu will save us."_

 _"Powerfully conniving mind!"_

 _"Truly Scar's heir."_

 _"You've grown into such a strong young lion."_

With those thoughts in his head, his heart wrenched. As he saw it, he had two choices: mourn his glory days, which he now realized he cherished more than anything, or remind those who needed to be reminded that _he_ was their one true heir. The one who had brought them out of misery and degradation…

Kovu stood in the dark, and before he knew it, his paws were taking him out of the den and across the Pride Lands.


End file.
